20 January 2004	Tuesday	27 Ziqa'ad 1424

LAHORE, Jan 19: Differences among the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal constituents are the major cause of rift in the NWFP where the dominant sect is damaging worship places of other sects, it is reliably learnt.

Appointment of the alliance's permanent president and leader of the opposition in the Senate, and giving share to all the MMA components in the NWFP cabinet are other points of dispute, sources told Dawn here on Monday.

Before attending the proposed supreme council meeting in Islamabad, they said, the 'annoyed' leaders of the six-party alliance would seek guarantees from secretary-general Maulana Fazlur Rahman that members of a certain sect would neither harass their rivals in other constituents nor would they damage worship places of other sects.

The sources claimed there was also difference of opinion over the MMA's top office, as the JUP wanted to see the late Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani's son, Anas Noorani, as the new permanent chief of the alliance. The late Noorani had been heading the alliance since its inception two years ago.

The MMA is also divided over the office of the leader of the opposition in the Senate. The Jamaat-i-Islami is aspiring to have the slot for Senator Prof Ghafoor, the JUI-F for Senator Maulana Naseeb Gul while JUI-S chief Senator Maulana Samiul Haq says being a senior MMA leader in the house he has more right over it.

Mr Haq has also sought support of MJAH president, Senator Sajid Mir, in this respect. It is also learnt that five out of six MMA components are united against the sixth constituent, the JUI-F, in demanding some sort of share in the Balochistan government.

As no other MMA component has any representation on the Balochistan Assembly, these say that their local leaders could be indirectly given share in the government by appointing them as advisers and special assistants to the chief minister.