23 December 2004	Thursday	10 Ziqa'ad 1425

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LAHORE, Dec 22: People's Party Parliamentarians chief Makhdoom Amin Fahim says reconciliation with the government will not be possible unless it creates a 'conducive' atmosphere for the purpose.

Talking to Dawn on Wednesday, he said an initiative for reconciliation should come from the government. PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto had said on Tuesday that the action taken by the government against workers of her party could adversely affect the ongoing reconciliation efforts.

She also said that the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal would continue their struggle from their respective platforms.

The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the PPP's ally in the ARD, is upset by the former prime minister's statement. Party sources say that if the PPP was inclined to having separate talks with the government, the PML-N also would keep its options open.

The PML-N, the sources said, could join hands with the MMA or go for a separate movement, depending upon the requirements of the situation. Mr Fahim said a severe police action like the one taken on Tuesday was not the right way to go for reconciliation.

He recalled that Mr Zardari had said after his release about a month ago that he was willing to play the role of a bridge between democratic forces and the government. But, he regretted, the gesture had not been reciprocated.

"If they are not in a hurry, we too are not pushed," Mr Fahim said. In his opinion the best way for national reconciliation is that Gen Pervez Musharraf should immediately quit the posts of president and the army chief and hold elections.

Mr Fahim said that at the moment his party was struggling for the restoration of the 1973 Constitution and an undiluted democracy. In response to a question, Mr Fahim, who is chairman of the ARD, said the alliance and the MMA were separate entities and they would struggle from their respective platforms despite the fact that they had some common goals.

He said the two alliances would cooperate with each other but operate separately. Mr Fahim and PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq are members of an ARD committee constituted to hold talks with the MMA and work out modalities for mutual cooperation. But the two alliances are yet to come across the table.