29 January 2005	Saturday	18 Zilhaj 1425

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, Jan 28: The Pakistan Muslim League-N will soon brief the local leadership of the People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) on the meetings held between Nawaz Sharif and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) leaders in Jeddah , says PML-N secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra.

He told Dawn here on Friday, that he had been directed by Mr Nawaz to contact PPP President Makhdoom Amin Fahim to take him into confidence over recent meetings held between Mr Sharif and the MMA leaders.

Mr Jhagra, who is also secretary-general of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), said that Mr Sharif had categorically told MMA leaders Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rehman that the PML-N would not take any unilateral decision regarding cooperation with the religious alliance in the anti-government protest and any decision in this regard would be taken only at the ARD level.

In response to a question whether the MMA leaders had been asked by Mr Sharif to quit the NWFP and Balochistan governments, Mr Jhagra said no such demand had been made but the MMA leaders on their own had assured the PML-N chief that they were ready to take any extreme step for the restoration of the Constitution in the country.

When asked when he would contact the PPP leadership, Mr Jhagra said that it would be decided after the return of acting parliamentary leader of the PML-N Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who was present in the Jeddah meetings.

Mr Nisar is coming on Jan 31. Mr Jhagra further said the next meeting of the ARD was being convened in Islamabad in the second week of February.

He said this meeting would be crucial as the Alliance would thoroughly review possibilities of cooperation between the ARD and the MMA in the anti-government movement. Mr Jhagra claimed that Mr Sharif had given no assurance to the MMA regarding cooperation between the two alliances.