LAHORE, Nov 13: The PPP’s refusal to support the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) nominee for the office of prime minister, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, has provided an opportunity to the Jamaat-i-Islami to assert itself in deciding the six-party religious alliance’s policy with regard to government formation.

Earlier, the JUI-F had stolen the show by laying claim to offices of chief minister in the NWFP and parliamentary party leader in Balochistan as well as in the National Assembly although the number of its MPs was almost equal to that of the JI.

Some JI officials claimed that Qazi Husain Ahmad had nominated JUI-F president Maulana Fazl as the MMA prime minister-hopeful only to make a better bargain in power-sharing at the centre, especially in getting the office of NA speaker for Liaquat Baloch.

It was hoped that Maulana Fazl would reciprocate and suggest some JI leader’s name for the slot in the wake of nomination of his party’s man for the office of NWFP chief minister, they said.

Maulana Fazl became a serious contender for the office when Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) president Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan assured him support of the alliance in a bid to exploit the situation. This created heartburn among JI workers, who voiced their protest against nomination of JUI-F’s ‘beardless’ Akram Durrani for the post of NWFP chief minister. However, the JI leadership suppressed their voice in a bid to keep the alliance intact.

The two parties have difference of opinion over the role to be played by the religious alliance in the future politics. The JI gives more importance to politics of issues while the JUI-F believes in taking over even if it does not get the chance to implement its agenda under a powerful president.

However, Qazi Husain continued supporting Fazlur Rahman and held a press conference in this regard at his party’s headquarters in Lahore. He also organized a briefing for foreign diplomats in Islamabad to portray a soft bearing of the MMA in a bid to make Fazl acceptable to the western powers that wield considerable influence in government formation.

However, Fazl and his party left no chance to spoil this event, too, which had been organized exclusively by the Jamaat. Fazl requested Qazi to allow him to attend the briefing. Qazi Husain agreed to the request whereupon the MMA nominee reached there in the company of a dozen armed security personnel. JUI-F deputy secretary-general Hafiz Husain Ahmad also tried to create a scene by occupying a seat in the front row that was meant for diplomats only.

Differences between the two parties deepened when seeing that Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan had failed to muster PPP’s support for him, Fazlur Rahman issued a statement to the effect that the MMA would not accept the office of speaker if it was not given the prime minister’s office.

In view of PML-Q’s inclination to surrender the office of speaker to the MMA in return for the latter’s support for Mir Zafarullah Jamali’s bid for the office of prime minister, the JI interpreted Fazl’s statement as a counterattack in the backdrop of MMA supreme council’s decision to nominate Qazi Husain as the parliamentary leader if Fazlur Rahman failed to achieve his cherished goal of becoming the chief executive of the country.

JI officials termed it as Maulana Fazl’s attempt to dampen Liaquat Baloch’s chances of getting to the speaker’s office.

PPP’s refusal to extend support to Fazlur Rahman as a joint candidate of the MMA and the ARD has given the Jamaat-i-Islami room to register a comeback and influence the alliance’s decision-making process. It has successfully managed to re-establish its contacts with the PML-Q, which had been severed during Maulana Fazl’s efforts for premiership.

Talks between the MMA and the PML-Q have led to progress on various issues including the JI’s wish to see its Naib Amir Liaquat Baloch as the National Assembly speaker.

However, ARD deputy information secretary alleged that the JI already had secret contacts with government agencies and the PML-Q. He said the Jamaat has made Maulana Fazl a scapegoat to win the office of speaker for its leader. He also believed that the JI was not taking the Legal Framework Order seriously. He presented the composition of a committee formed to discuss the matter as evidence to prove his claim. He said no constitutional expert had been included in the committee, which comprised Liaquat Baloch, Hafiz Husain Ahmad, Sheikh Rashid and Chaudhry Amir Husain.