ISLAMABAD, July 20: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) on Tuesday announced that it had withdrawn its candidates on both the National Assembly seats, NA-59 Attock and NA-229 Tharparkar-I, on which the finance minister, Shaukat Aziz, is contesting in the August 18 by-elections.

The withdrawal is in favour of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD). Deputy parliamentary leader of MMA Hafiz Hussain Ahmed told Dawn that the alliance of religious parties had decided to withdraw its candidates on a formal request of the ARD leadership and Asif Ali Zardari.

He said a number of emissaries from Mr Zardari had met him over the past few days and he told them that someone from the ARD should hold talks on chalking out a common opposition strategy against the official candidate.

As a result of these meetings, he said Raja Parvez Ashraf, the secretary-general of PPP Parliamentarians, visited him on Monday and formally requested for MMA's withdrawal from the contest.

Hafiz Hussain said that after his talks with Mr Ashraf he contacted the MMA president and general-secretary Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rahman and sought their guidance before taking a decision and conveying it to lower levels.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the MMA announced here that the withdrawal was a gesture of goodwill towards the ARD and that the MMA expected that it would be reciprocated in the by-elections of Karachi.

The spokesman said: "We hope that the ARD, or PPP Parliamentarians for that matter, will in the interest of the unity of opposition will show a similar gesture of goodwill whenever by-polls are held in Karachi."

Our Correspondent in Attock adds: Raja Pervez Ashraf demanded on Tuesday that the by-elections be held under the supervision of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and European Union and Commonwealth observers.

Talking to newsmen outside the returning officer's office, he feared that the by-elections would be rigged as pre-poll rigging had already been started under which the state machinery and public resources were being used for the election campaign of the ruling party's candidate.

He thanked MMA leadership for reposing confidence in the ARD candidate, Dr Sikandar Hayat, by withdrawing their candidates. MMA leader Sardar Nasir Iqbal, who withdrew his nomination papers, said the MMA would extend full support to Dr Sikandar Hayat.

Our Correspondent in Mithi adds: Four candidates withdrew their nomination papers for the NA-229 Tharparkar-I by-election on Tuesday. According to Ghulam Mehdi Sangi, additional sessions judge and the returning officer, the four candidates are: Arbab Zakaullah and Arbab Haji Abdullah, of Pakistan Muslim League's and Dr Mumtaz Ali Memon and Mir Mohammad Buledi, of the MMA.

After the withdrawal, there are four candidates in the field, Mr Aziz (PML), Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani and Engineer Giyan Chand (PPPP) and Noor Mohammad Bhatti (PPP-SB).