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| August 27, 2005 | Saturday | Rajab 21, 1426 |
ANP-Jamaat agreement spurs discord in MMA
PESHAWAR, Aug 26: An agreement between Jamaat-i-Islami and Awami National Party to set up the next government in the city district and its four town councils has created a dent between two major components of the ruling Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal in the NWFP.
In a related development, Chief Minister Akram Durrani has held talks with independent councillors to muster support for JUI-F candidate Haji Ghulam Ali for the coveted slot of the district nazim of Peshawar.
Sources said that Thursday night’s meeting between JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad and the ANP leaders in Peshawar had deepened differences between the two giants of the religious alliance.
Senior Minister Sirajul Haq described the role of the chief minister as a big disappointment for the six-party alliance, saying he (Mr Durrani) should have taken into confidence all components of the alliance on the issue instead of acting as a party (JUI-F) worker.
“I advised Mr Durrani to play the role of an arbitrator and not a party worker, but he didn’t show broadmindedness,” remarked Mr Haq, who is also provincial chief of the JI.
He said Jamaat would not ignore the JUI-F and other MMA components and was ready to accommodate them in the formation of governments in Peshawar and other districts of the province.
JUI-F nominee Haji Ghulam Ali said that Jamaat did not leave any room for further negotiations at the district level.
“This chapter has been closed and we will prove our majority within next few days,” he said, adding that the JUI-backed Muttahida group enjoyed the support of 280 councillors and was in contact with independent councillors-elect.
After the agreement between the Jamaat and the ANP, the JUI-F struck a deal with the PPP and PPP-Sherpao for the election of nazim and naib nazim in the district.
The PPP has agreed to support the JUI-F candidate for the slot of nazim and will field its candidate for the office of naib nazim.
According to the JUI-F, the Taraqqi Pasand panel backed by the PPP-Sherpao extended unconditional support to the Muttahida group in the Peshawar district. Both parties also reached an agreement for district government of Charsadda.
Sources said that about 330 independent councillors-elect would play a decisive role in the formation of the city district government.
It is learnt that in all 92 union councils in the city district, ANP-backed Watan Dost panel has 216 councillors, PPP’s Awam Dost group 111 while Al Khidmat panel remains third with 86 councillors.
The sources said that the JUI-F had 34 councillors-elect in the city district, the PML 17, PML-N 20 while PPP-S enjoyed the support of 26 councillors.
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