LAHORE, July 28: The MMA has announced that the Watan Dost Group, being backed by it in the local polls, has made electoral adjustments with other groups of the opposition parties in 65 union councils of the city.

Negotiations are going on for adjustments on 10 more union councils and these will be finalized in a couple of days, Lahore chapter’s MMA president Hafiz Salman Butt told a press conference here on Thursday. Saifuddin Saif and Amirul Azim were also present.

Mr Butt said the Watan Dost Group had put up its own panels of nazims and naib nazims for 24 councils. In 16 union councils it had made adjustments with the PML-N-backed Watan Nawaz Group, in nine with PPP-backed Awam Dost Group while in 17 UCs independent contestants had been accommodated as allies, he said.

He issued a list of hopefuls for the 65 seats of nazims and naib nazims. For the remaining 75 city UCs, the Watan Dost Group would either field its own panels or join hands with local groups of good repute, he said.

He did not rule out the possibility that the three opposition groups would be contesting against one another in these councils.

Answering a question, he denied that they had struck any deal with the ruling PML.

He regretted that ignoring all demands by the MMA, the local elections were being held on a non-party basis while no serious measures were being taken to make the exercise free, fair and impartial.

He demanded a permanent chief election commissioner and other members of the commission so that the polls could be held independently.

He described as pre-poll rigging the kidnapping of Awam Dost nominees for UC-9 and forcing them to withdraw in favour of the opponent panel backed by the ruling PML. The MMA, he said, would resist ‘state’ repression.

Condemning registrations of cases against religious leaders for violation of ban on misuse of loudspeakers, he said cases were also being registered against MMA leaders Maulana Saifuddin Saif and Qari Nazeer.

Mr Saif condemned the Lahore police for not providing them with the copies of FIRs depriving them of the chance to secure their bails. join PML: Former naib nazims of three union councils in northern Lahore and 30 councillors belonging to the PPP and the PML-N announced their joining of the PML here on Thursday.

Mian Akhlaq Guddu, who had earlier left the PPP to join the PML, welcomed the new entrants to his party at a press conference. He assured them that they would get more respect and status in the PML.