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| 19 May 2004 | Wednesday | 28 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425 |
National Alliance's merger with PML today
ISLAMABAD, May 18: The formal announcement of merger of three party National Alliance of Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari with the unified Pakistan Muslim league (PML) will be made on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain would attend the national Alliance central executive council/ parliamentary party meeting at a local hotel in the morning which would formally dissolve itself and endorse the merger decision and then a welcome ceremony would be held for the alliance's leaders at Pakistan Muslim League house in the afternoon.
The general councils of the Sindh National Alliance (Arbab Ghulam Rahim), National People's Party (NPP) led by Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi and Millat Party (MP) of Mr Leghari held their separate meetings on Tuesday to endorse the merger decision and empowered their respective presidents to announce the decision on Wednesday.
The Millat Party's general council met in Lahore while the two others in Islamabad to complete the ritual of passing resolutions for the merger and empowering their presidents to take the process to its logical conclusion. The parties would merge with the PML from the platform of the National Alliance.
Speaking at a joint press conference here, Senator Tariq Azeem, Mohammad Ali Durrani and Senator Kamil Ali Agha said that the unification of the PML and merger of other parties with it was being done on the desire of President Gen Pervez Musharraf, who they claimed was sincerely trying to give the country a stable democracy.
Responding to a question regarding President Musharraf's uniform, Tariq Azeem said: "President Musharraf has fulfilled all his promises and he will in his opinion, definitely fulfil this constitutional obligation as well since it had become part of the Constitution through the 17th amendment."
He said: "One thing should be clear that neither our party has offered the party presidentship to Gen Musharraf nor has he formally expressed any desire to become the party president."
Mr Agha said: "This is a hypothetical question which is being raised before its time." Mr Durrani said: "In our view all decisions about the party offices should be taken by the party."
When asked about Pir Pagaro's remarks that the honeymoon of the PML unification would not last long, he said: "It was his personal view and we cannot support him."
According to the programme, the National Alliance central executive and parliamentary party would pass two resolutions. Through the first it would dissolve its separate entity and endorse merger with the PML and through second resolution the alliance's parliamentarians would be allowed to become part of the unified league.
About the distribution of party portfolios, Senator Azeem said that under the PPO the party president could not nominate office-bearers, but could recommend the names for election by the general council.
He said the process of completion of election for party offices may take sometime. He said the party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has already expressed his determination to ensure merit in recommending persons for the party portfolios.
When asked about the legal lacunas in the way of unified league's legislators after the unification as pointed out by Patriot's Dr Sher Afgan, Mr Azeem said: "The unification had been carried out strictly according to S. M. Zafar formula and all of us rate him as the most senior constitutional expert in the country."
He said after PML-N MPA Ahad Malik's joining the unified league a number of more PML-N legislators have expressed their desire to join the unified league.
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