ISLAMABAD July 15: Jailed PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari seems to be acting as a bridge between the two main opposition alliances for a joint fight against prime ministerial hopeful Shaukat Aziz in the by-elections for two National Assembly seats.

Mr Zaradari, husband of self-exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, sent a messenger to the MMA leadership twice during the last 48 hours to seek support for the ARD candidates in the August 18 by-elections, an MMA source said on Thursday.

MMA's deputy parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Hafiz Hussain Ahmed told Dawn that Mr Zardari's emissary visited him and held an hour-long meeting following which he had conveyed a message to the alliance's secretary-general Maulana Fazlur Rahman in Quetta.

He said Mr Zardari's emissary apologized for what he called 'provocative' statements by PPP chief Makhdoom Amin Fahim and promised to contact the PPP leader after his arrival in Islamabad.