PESHAWAR, March 17: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) has constituted a four-member committee to mend rifts between the two major components of the alliance, Jamaat-i-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl), at the NWFP level.

Serious differences surfaced between the two components of the ruling alliance over fresh recruitments in law, Zakat and social welfare departments, including assistant and deputy advocates-general.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rehman held a five-hour-long meeting here at the Frontier House on Thursday night to mend differences within the alliance.

The six-party alliance had already suffered setbacks after the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Sami) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (Noorani) announced their disassociation from the MMA.

Differences further deepened inside the MMA after Asif Luqman Qazi, son of Qazi Hussain, accused Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani of grabbing all powers. On the other hand, the JUI-F blamed that the Jamaat had encroached upon Zakat committees across the province and appointed its workers as members and chairmen of these committees.

According to the insiders, both leaders stopped the provincial ministers and members of the parliamentary party of the MMA from issuing statements against each other.

Chief Minister Akram Durrani and Senior Minister Sirajul Haq also attended the meeting. The four-member committee, comprising Senator Gul Naseeb Khan, Mufti Kefayatullah, Senior Minister Sirajul Haq and Senator Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, will hear complaints of the ministers and the MPAs. The sources said the chief minister and his cabinet members were advised to follow guidelines of the MMA.