PESHAWAR, March 14: The Pakistan People's Party (Sherpao) has denied that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government had extended any invitation to their chief Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao for taking up any provincial issue with the federal government.

Refuting a statement by NWFP finance minister Sirajul Haq here on Sunday, a PPP-S spokesman said that Mr Sherpao had never been a neutral or passive spectator on the issue of provincial rights as dubbed by the minister on the floor of the House.

The spokesman also denied that Mr Sherpao had refused to join the provincial jirga, constituted by the MMA minister, to discuss the financial issues with the federal government. It was totally unfair to accuse a party, which had never hesitated in putting up people's demands to the rulers, he added.

He said it was Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who had opposed the nomination of Mr Sherpao on the negotiating team, constituted by the federal government to hold talks on the legal framework order with the opposition alliance.

He said contrary to the MMA's stance, PPP-S parliamentary leader Makhdoom Mureed Kazim had joined the MMA jirga meant for negotiating with the centre on the financial rights of the province.

The spokesman said that the Jamaat-i-Islami, a major component of the ruling MMA, had been a staunch supporter of dictators, including Gen Ziaul Haq and his successors. The Jamaat had never taken up such issues with the dictatorial regimes in the past, he added.

On the contrary, he said, whosoever demanded the rights from the rulers, the Jamaat had dubbed them as traitors and enemies of the Muslim Ummah. He said the MMA government had miserably failed in ameliorating the lot of the common man. He said the economy of the NWFP is in a shambles and unemployment had increased enormously, but the rulers were engaged in the promotion of favouritism.

He said that contrary to the chief minister's tall claim that all the closed industrial units would be made operational, more units were shut down. "The common man does not know how to make both ends meet", he added.

Criticizing the government, he said law and order was worst in the history of the NWFP and favouritism was the order of the day, but the MMA government was doing nothing to improve the situation.

He said that Mr Sherpao had been in forefront of securing the due rights of the province and was doing every thing possible in this connection without resorting to cheep publicity.