ISLAMABAD, Oct 20: Pakistan Muslim League (Q), despite having won 77 seats in the National Assembly and emerged as the single largest parliamentary group in the Punjab Assembly, is faced with a dilemma on the nomination of a candidate for the prime ministership.

It is an embarrassing situation for a party rated as number one in the power game as its two rivals in the run — the MMA and the People’s Party Parliamentarians — have already decided the issue by nominating their parliamentary leaders.

When the MMA and the PPP have a weaker case to reach the power corridors, the division in the PML(Q) is tantamount to imposition of another martial law on the country, sources said, quoting Western diplomats.

Two distinct camps have emerged in the party: one is led by Mian Azhar and the other by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. Both are supporting names from their respective group for the premiership. Mian Azhar, being on the weaker pitch after losing the elections, is focusing on getting a seat through either byelections or a ticket to become a senator.

Mian Azhar’s group opposed Zafarullah Jamali’s candidature at the party’s CWC meeting on Saturday and is trying, behind the scene, to muster support for Sardar Farooq Ahmed Leghari. Begum Abida Hussain and Fakhr Imam are in the forefront of this manoeuvring, sources say, claiming that Mr Leghari enjoys the establishment’s support.

Besides, Mian Azhar is assuring every one of Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, Ghaus Bakhsh Mahar and even Omar Ayub, son of Gohar Ayub, that they are his choice.

Chaudhry Shujaat’s group is betting on Mr Jamali, banking on the impression that the establishment will prefer a premier from a smaller province. Since Balochistan, the home province of Mr Jamali, has never been given the top slot, the powers that be are said to be supporting this idea.

Meanwhile, a strong anti-Azhar group in the party has started lobbying for the re-introduction of a piece of law which in 1985 had prohibited any defeated candidate from contesting a senate seat.

If this law is promulgated, many of the PML(Q) stalwarts, including Mian Azhar, Salim Saifullah Khan, Begum Abida Hussain, Fakhr Imam and Ilahi Bakhsh Soomro, will be eliminated from the front-line political scene.

Some of the party leaders are creating confusion about Mr Jamali’s eligibility on the basis of the fact he has remained chief minister of Balochistan twice.

Zubaida Jalal, who joined the PML(Q) only a couple of days ago, has become a hot favourite for the ‘hidden forces’ because of her good reputation of working with international agencies as the federal minister for education before she had resigned to contest the elections.

Mian Azhar, according to party sources, is supporting Ms Jalal out of frustration as he has realized that his nominee for the coveted office is not going to win backing from the party.

Immediately after the elections, Mian Azhar had announced the nomination of Chaudhry Shujaat as the parliamentary leader to block the latter from becoming a candidate for premiership.

However, Chaudhry Shujaat has emerged better strategist when he was empowered by the parliamentary group to nominate the candidate for the premiership.

Chaudhry Shujaat has left for Karachi to talk to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement leaders on the possibilities of a coalition in the Centre as well as Sindh.