ISLAMABAD, Sept 22: Fearing rejection of the proposed constitutional package by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal supreme council, the government is planning to again invite the MMA leadership for talks in the next month.

Official sources told Dawn here on Monday that the ruling PML-Q was not optimistic about the MMA accepting the package specially after Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s statement made in Multan on Sunday rejecting further talks as President Musharraf did not concede anything on the issue of his uniform.

Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, sources said, would personally go to the residences of Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Maulana Fazlur Rehman and invite them for fresh talks.

The prime minister would take them into confidence after meeting the president.

A number of ruling party senators, when contacted, said that the talks would continue with the MMA even if it rejected the proposed constitutional package.

Senator Syed Dilawar Abbas said that it was the job of the ruling party everywhere in the world to try to have good relations with the opposition. “We have conceded some points to the MMA but if they reject our package, we would find some other means to win them over,” he said.

He said PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was anxious to forge better understanding with the opposition specially with the MMA so that democracy could function well in the country.

The senator did not believe that the MMA would take any decision on Tuesday at its supreme council meeting. “But no party whether in the government or the opposition could close doors on each other for fresh talks,” he believed.

Replying to a question, he said that in case of MMA’s rejection of the package the president, prime minister and Mr Hussain would consult each other to carve out new strategy to deal with the opposition,” he said.

Senator Mohammad Ali Durrani of the National Alliance claimed that the MMA did not enjoy enough support to launch a mass movement against the government over the issue of the LFO or the president’s military uniform. “Therefore I believe that even if MMA’s supreme council rejects our package, they will have to hold fresh talks,” he said.

Mr Durrani said that the president had made it clear on more than one occasion that he would not give any cut-off date for giving up the uniform.