November 8, 2002	Friday	Ramazan 2,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 7: The announcement of joint PPP-MMA candidates for the offices of prime minister and NA speaker is being delayed due to the failure of the PPP to intimate its nominee to the ARD.

The PPP was supposed to intimate the name of its candidate for the post of National Assembly speaker to the ARD on Wednesday, but till Thursday night the ARD chief had not received any indication.

“PPP had to inform us the name of its candidate for speakership yesterday but we have not received any thing from it,” ARD chief Nawabzada Nasrullah said.

Giving details of the understanding reached between the ARD and the MMA, he said they had developed a consensus on the name of MMA candidate for prime ministership Maulana Fazlur Rehman and decided to give speakership to the PPP.

Nasrullah said he was contacting leaders of all the political parties and some other civil society organizations for convening an All Parties Conference on the issue of delay in holding the inaugural session of the National Assembly.

He said the conference would be convened on a mutually convenient date.

About reports that the government machinery was out to drive a wedge in the PPP ranks, he said they were trying up to the hilt to impose a government of PML-Q.

“They have adopted a policy of carrot and stick,” he said. Nasrullah pointed out that the 12 MNAs-elect from the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas, who had won the election on the symbol of book, were being forced to support the PML-Q.

He said they had been offered development funds of millions of rupees for supporting the PML-Q.

Nasrullah said that how the ARD or its component parties could compromise on the issues on which they had been struggling for the last three years.

He said the ARD component parties and the PML-Q were poles apart as far as constitutional issues were concerned. He said the ARD had not accepted the military rule of Pervez Musharraf and his referendum while the PML-Q endorsed all his illegal and unconstitutional deeds.

“How can we form a government with the PML(-Q,” he said. The veteran politician said some people were arguing that the present regime and its constitutional amendments should be accepted because these were the realities.

“Ayub Khan was also a reality, Yahya Khan was a reality and so was Gen Zia, but we never accepted them,” he added.

When asked whether the ARD component parties could sustain the pressure and the alliance would remain intact, he said they were struggling to uphold principles and would continue their struggle till the realization of their goals.

Earlier in the day, the Nawabzada called on Maulana Fazlur Rehman to enquire about his health.