ISLAMABAD, Dec 13: The Pakistan Muslim League-N has decided to make adjustments with the candidates of PPP and the MMA in the by-elections on the national and provincial assemblies’ seats.

It further decided that it will not lay its claim on seats which were not surrendered by its candidates and will support the two major stake-holders against the official candidates.

The party will support the candidates of the two major opposition parties to ensure that no ruling PML-Q candidate wins the by-polls, a party source said.

These parties failed to make adjustments in Oct 10 polls on a number of seats where they were pitched against each other, with the result the PML-Q candidates drew maximum advantage, the sources said.

A meeting of the party top leaders, presided over by Chairman, Raja Zafarul Haq, on Thursday reviewed the dialogue that the provincial leadership had held with other like-minded parties so far.

Among others who attended the meeting were party’s deputy parliamentary leader, Chauhdry Nisar Ali Khan, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Begum Tehmina Daultana, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Rana Tanvir Ahmed and Siddiqul Farooq. Acting party president, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, was not available in the federal capital to attend.

Sardar Zulfikar Khosa, the party’s Punjab president, briefed the meeting on his talks so far with the PPP and the MMA in connection with adjustments in the largest province.

Raja Zafarul Haq told Dawn that the meeting expressed its gratitude to the MMA and the PPP for their gesture of goodwill that they had expressed for the PML-N in contesting the by-polls.

The party’s central information secretary, Siddiqul Farooq, said that the party secretary general, Saranjam Khan, NWFP president Pir Sabir Shah, and Iqbal Zafar Jhagra could not attend the meeting because of their preoccupation elsewhere in the country.

Punjab has the largest number of 7 national and 14 provincial assembly seats where the PML-N has lesser stake than the other two major contestants and it has decided in principle to support them against the PML-Q candidates.