02 October 2004	Saturday	16 Shaban 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 1: A meeting of senior leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-N was held here on Friday to discuss various options for cooperation with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) in its possible movement against Gen Pervez Musharraf , if he did not take off his uniform by December 31 deadline.

Talking to Dawn, party's information secretary Siddiqul Farooque said the meeting discussed various options for cooperation with the MMA on the uniform issue and it was decided that the final decision would be announced after consultation with other component parties of Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD).

Mr Farooque said the PML-N would contact People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) in a couple of days. Moreover, he said, the PML-N was convening a meeting of all political forces inside and outside the parliament, which had opposed the 17th Amendment. He said the meeting would be held on October 10 in Lahore.

It may be mentioned that the formal request for cooperation was made by MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed during a meeting with former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif in Jeddah, last week.

A source said Mr Sharif had referred the matter to the local leadership of the party to take a final decision and told Qazi Hussain Ahmed that he could not take any decision on his own.

Mr Sharif told Qazi Hussain Ahmed that PML-N was also bound to follow the decisions of the ARD. Meanwhile, another source told Dawn that in the Friday's meeting, the issue of differences within the MMA ranks also came under discussion.

Some of the members were of the view that the request had been made by Qazi Hussain Ahmed in his personal capacity and not by the MMA.

Ch Nisar Ali Khan, Saranjam Zamindar, Sardar Zulfiquar Khosa, Sardar Mehtab Khan Abbasi, Maimoona Hashmi, Siddiqul Farooque, Syed Zafar Ali Shah and Kh Saad Rafique attended the meeting presided over by party's chairman Raja Zafarul Haq.