27 August 2004	Friday	10 Rajab 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: The People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) surrendered to the demand of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to nominate Makhdoom Javed Hashmi as ARD candidate for the office of prime minister after PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif's telephone call to PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, sources told Dawn on Thursday.

The sources said after failure of talks between the local leaders of the two parties on Wednesday night, the PML-N leaders informed Mr Sharif that the PPP had adopted a stubborn attitude and was not ready to accept Mr Hashmi as an ARD candidate. They also informed Mr Sharif that now they would have to take some bold decisions.

The sources said Mr Sharif stopped the PML-N leaders from announcing any major decision and decided to have a telephonic conversation with Ms Bhutto as a last resort to save the ARD from disintegration. The sources, however, did not say what assurance Mr Sharif had given to Ms Bhutto in return for her party's support to Mr Hashmi.

The sources said after Mr Sharif's phone call, Ms Bhutto contacted Amin Fahim and asked him to announce Mr Hashmi as the joint candidate of the ARD in the larger interest of the alliance. Mr Fahim contacted acting PML-N parliamentary leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and informed him about the decision.

However, the sources said, Mr Fahim asked Chaudhry Nisar to announce the decision in a way that he (Mr Fahim) should not feel disgraced. Therefore, the sources said, it was decided that they would announce that Mr Fahim was the consensus ARD candidate but he had himself withdrawn in favour of Mr Hashmi.

Acting on the planned scheme, Chaudhry Nisar told mediapersons on Thursday morning that ARD had actually nominated Mr Fahim as its candidate but he had himself withdrawn in favour of Mr Hashmi.

According to the sources, in the meeting held on Wednesday night, the PML-N had informed the PPP that they would file the nomination papers of its jailed leader come what may.

"We told the PPP that it is not a matter of number of votes. Even if we get 15 votes, we will file nomination papers of Mr Hashmi," a senior PML-N leader who attended the meeting told Dawn.

He said actually it was a "war of nerves' and the PPP went to the last extent to test their nerves. He said the PPP had failed to convince the PML-N leaders about its decision to nominate Mr Fahim as the candidate against Gen Musharraf's nominee, Shaukat Aziz.

This is for the second time that the differences between the local PPP and the PML-N leaders were resolved after direct intervention of their exiled party chiefs. Earlier, the PML-N had to withdraw its candidate in favour of the PPP during the by-election in Attock against Mr Aziz on the instructions of Mr Sharif.