26 August 2004	Thursday	09 Rajab 1425

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, Aug 25: The Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and the Pakistan Muslim League-N on Wednesday failed again to agree on a joint ARD candidate for the election of the prime minister's office against Shaukat Aziz.

Sources told Dawn that the leadership of the two major component parties of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy held two futile rounds of talks on Wednesday to resolve the issue.

The sources said that in the meeting held at the residence of PPP Senator Raza Rabbani, leaders of both the parties talked several times directly to Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif by telephone. However, despite repeated interventions of the exiled leaders, the talks remained fruitless.

Both the PPP and the PML-N have nominated their party presidents, Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, respectively, as candidates against Mr Aziz for the prime minister's post.

The PPP claims that it is the largest political party in the alliance and has the right to nominate its candidate, while the PML-N says that it has supported the PPP on every occasion in the past and this time the PPP should show some magnanimity and accept its candidate.

Insiders told Dawn that the PPP leaders had asked the PML-N either to support Makhdoom Amin Fahim or the ARD should announce the boycott of the elections. The PPP leaders, the sources said, told the PML-N leadership that they had been directed by the party chairperson, Benazir Bhutto, to take this stand.

The sources said the PML-N leaders had flatly rejected the PPP's offer, saying, "the PML-N cannot be dictated by the PPP". The sources said the PML-N leaders tried to convince the PPP that Mr Hashmi should be nominated as the joint candidate which would also help improve the image of the alliance.

The PML-N leaders said that Mr Hashmi was in jail due to his just struggle for the cause of democracy and he deserved to be nominated as the candidate. Moreover, the PML-N leaders also gave examples from the past when at several times, the PML-N had sacrificed in favour of the PPP in an effort to save the alliance from disintegration.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the PML-N had got the signature of Mr Hashmi on the nomination papers and the party was ready to file the papers on Thursday. The meeting was attended by Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Raza Rabbani, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Syed Naveed Qamar, Syed Khursheed Shah, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Nabil Gabol of the PPP while Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Maimoona Hashmi, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Khwaja Saad Rafiq and Siddiqul Farooque represented the PML-N.

Talking to a small group of reporters after the meeting at the Parliament Lodges, Mr Fahim said the ARD would announce its joint candidate on Thursday. He said the nomination of a joint candidate was not a big issue and it would be resolved amicably.

Acting parliamentary leader of the PML-N Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said those who wanted to see ARD's disintegration would be disappointed on Thursday. He said another round of talks would be held on Thursday morning and hopefully it would succeed in reaching a consensus by 2pm, the time by which nomination papers can be filed.

In reply to a question, Mr Nisar said Mr Hashmi's papers could not be rejected as he was still a member of the assembly. He said the speaker himself had granted him leave so how could he reject the papers.

Responding to a question regarding the possibility of the boycott of the elections, Mr Fahim said it would also be decided on Thursday. Earlier, the sources said, Mr Fahim and Raja Pervez Ashraf called on PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq at his office to discuss the issue.