December 17, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 12, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: The supreme council of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) is holding its meeting on Tuesday in Peshawar to discuss and formulate its policy on cooperation with Jamali government, functioning of its government in NWFP and the pace of the implementation of its agreement in Balochistan over the coalition with PML-Q, sources told Dawn.

MMA deputy secretary-general Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, when contacted, said that the alliance would also take up the issue of the distribution of the Senate seats among its six component parties, besides finalizing the tickets allotment for the by- elections.

Though there was no urgency to discuss its cooperation with the Jamali-led coalition after the return of the MQM to its folds, the MMA would deliberate on conditions on the basis of which its cooperation would be available to the government in future, sources said.

The issue of appointment of a leader of the opposition in the National Assembly was also on cards as the alliance’s leadership had come under pressure to take a decision once and for all.

MMA chief Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani would preside over the meeting, likely to be attended by Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Maulana Samiul Haq, Prof Sajid Mir and Allama Sajid Naqvi.

The MMA deputy secretary-general said that the meeting would review the current political situation in the country in light of the formation of the governments in three provinces and the king party’s attitude in the election of speaker and deputy speaker in Sindh. The recent coalition between the alliance and the PPP in Sindh would also come under discussion.

Since the MMA was expected to get a big chunk of Senate seats from NWFP and Balochistan apart from Fata its central command meeting in Peshawar was a compulsion.

The alliance had decided to allot Senate tickets to the top leaders of the component parties irrespective of their vote bank or parliamentary position in the national and provincial assemblies, sources said.

The MMA would also ponder over the challenges to its existence in the face of numerous attempts on its unity particularly the reported efforts to break some of its legislators in the NWFP. It would also discuss among other things measures to make the NWFP government a model Islamic dispensation which would serve as an example for rest of the country.