September 25, 2002	Wednesday	Rajab 17, 1423

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ISLAMABAD Sept 24: Three major political parties have begun mulling a unified strategy to forestal what they fear “chances of organized rigging” on selected seats on the election day.

People’s Party Parliamentarians Chairman Makhdoom Fahim, Pakistan Muslim League (N) Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan are expected to meet in the federal capital in the next couple of days to reach a consensus on giving a substantive ultimatum to the establishment to stop meddling in the electoral process or to go for an all-out agitation, informed sources of the three parties confirmed to Dawn on Tuesday.

They were also in contact with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leaders and had taken them into confidence in taking a united stand against the expected rigging, the sources said.

According to PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar, all the major parties in the run are extremely perturbed over the reports of a planned rigging on the election day after all pre-poll rigging actions taken.

“There are chances of misuse of election material when it is delivered in the evening of October 10,” he said, adding that Makhdoom Amin Fahim was arriving here by evening and would start meeting the leaders of other like-minded politicians to plan a strategy.

Mr Fahim, who has already held meetings with the leaders of these parties, told a news conference the other day that he was meeting the politicians to achieve the objective of national reconciliation.

“It is very tough to fight against the establishment’s moves but we are determined to expose every player of the power game before the masses as well as the world opinion leaders,” said a political source.

PIT Information Secretary Akbar S. Babar indicated that the leaders of the three parties might hold a joint press conference on Sunday.

He said Imran Khan was also expected to speak to the press to expose the establishment’s activities towards manipulation in shape of pre-poll rigging and rigging on the day of elections.

Another suggestion is that these leaders during their meetings may consider chances of the maximum cooperation by making seat adjustments on the most crucial seats, where the top candidates of their parties were contesting.

One of the suggestions is that the PPP withdraw its candidate from the contest against Raja Zafarul Haq in Rawalpindi, as the PML-N has already asked its candidate to withdraw from contest against Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

Similarly, they are also likely to discuss the possibility of withdrawing their candidates for the seats for which pro-government heavy weights are contesting.

Their main target is said to be PML-QA President Mian Azhar, who is contesting for two National Assembly seats.

The biggest hurdle in the way of getting all these leaders together is that all of them are pretty busy in their own electoral campaign in the four provinces. Makhdoom is contesting polls in Sindh, Imran in Mianwali, Swat and Lahore and Raja Zafarul Haq is fighting the battle of his lifetime in Rawalpindi.