LAHORE, March 5: The unification of five factions of the PML and the Sindh Democratic Alliance will be completed by the end of the current month, a senior leader involved in the process said on Friday.

Rana Nazir Ahmad Khan, political secretary to the prime minister, told Dawn that he had already completed talks with the Sindhi leaders and now he would visit the Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan to discuss the modalities and principles with leaders from these provinces.

He said legal hindrances, if any, would also be removed during the current month. The PML factions which will unify are led by Chaudhry Shujaat Husain, Hamid Nasir Chattha, Saeed Ahmad Manais, Ejazul Haq and Pir Pagara. The SDA faction headed by Imtiaz Sheikh will also become part of the unified PML.