02 July 2004	Friday	13 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

ISLAMABAD, July 1: Prime Minister in-waiting Shaukat Aziz is likely to enjoy autonomy on economic matters but in the interim period, he will have to take into account the advice of Prime Minister Chaudhri Shujaat Hussain on political issues.

Informed sources told Dawn here on Wednesday that the powers of Chaudhri Shujaat Hussain and Mr Shaukat Aziz have been well- defined to avoid differences such as those seen between former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Chaudhri Shujaat.

The sources said President Pervez Musharraf had assured Chaudhri Shujaat that 'preference' would be given to him to decide political matters even when Mr Aziz assumed office of the prime minister after about two months.

However, the president reportedly wants the PML president to regularly consult the secretary general of the party, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, on political and administrative matters. Mr Jamali, one PML legislator said, was wont to disregard the advice of the PML president and other party leaders that eventually became the cause of his ouster.

The legislator, who did not want to be named, said that while Chaudhri Shujaat complained that his MNAs were being ignored and not being inducted in the cabinet, President Musharraf was unhappy over various matters that were being delayed including women's rights, changes in the syllabus of schools and colleges, honour killings, blasphemy laws, karo kari and the Hudood laws.

Mr Jamali was particularly asked to get a certain bill passed from the National Assembly. This bill was moved by PML MNA Mehnaz Rafi, but was not brought up for discussion in the house.

The former prime minister, the PML legislator said, also ignored complaints by a number of ruling party MNAs and MPAs at the Governor's House, Lahore, that they were being ignored.

Mr Jamali, he said did not like it when he was told that he belonged to the PML but has more sympathies to the PPP Patriots. "Mr Jamali told us that the Patriots were equally important, and, therefore, he would not listen to anything against them," the PML legislator said.

This could have been the turning point after which Chaudhri Shujaat and Chaudhri Pervaiz Elahi held a meeting with the president and told him that Mr Jamali was no longer acceptable to them and that he must be asked to step down.