07 January 2005	Friday	25 Ziqa'ad 1425

KARACHI, Jan 6: Amid government plan for early local government polls, former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who heads the ruling PML, visited headquarters 'Nine Zero' of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Wednesday night in a bid to remove misunderstanding that had cropped due to certain remarks about the Father of the Nation Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal.

Talking to journalists after the late-night meeting, Chaudhry Shujaat said: "There was a need to clarify the situation in order to remove the misunderstanding created by the statements attributed to him and some other leaders.

The PML chief was in the metropolis in connection with the reorganization of the party in Sindh ahead of the upcoming local government elections. The meeting was significant in view of the MQM chief's recent criticism of the 'greater Punjab' campaign.

Terming it 'a courtesy call by Chaudhry Shujaat, PML sources said that a detailed meeting with regard to the local government elections would be held between the two parties soon.

The ruling party vows to put the opposition to rout in the polls which the latter claims have already been manipulated by the government through bifurcation of various districts in the province. Chaudhry Shujaat told journalists that the protest rallies organized by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal had miserably failed.

"One year back, the government and the MMA had reached an agreement under which President Musharraf was allowed to hold office of the army chief simultaneously with that of the president. If the MMA had any objection in principle on his uniform, why had they signed the agreement even for a year?"

It's time to bring the government-MMA pact on the Legal Framework Order (LFO), he added. Amid mounting criticism of the federal government policy on water distribution and division of resources under the NFC Award, Chaudhry Shujaat declared that "there will be no injustice with Sindh," and said he believed in full provincial autonomy for all the federating units.

He appreciated the ongoing relief campaign by the MQM for the tsunami victims, saying that others should also follow this example. Chaudhry Shujaat was accompanied by Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim and PML Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed during his visit to the MQM headquarters where he was received by the in-charge of the MQM coordination committee, Anwar Alam, and other leaders. He also held talks with several MQM leaders.