LAHORE, Nov 25: The “forward bloc” of the ruling PML will remove all ambiguities about its strength when the National Assembly goes into session on Dec 5, group’s spokesman Farooq Amjad Mir said on Friday. Talking to reporters, he said the group wanted that the party should set right its policies, a task which he said could be achieved only by changing the leadership.

However, he said, the group would review its thinking if President Musharraf convinced them that the change of policies was possible even without replacing the leadership.

The group would not like to discuss the matter with anybody other than the president, Mir said.

About reports that some members had dissociated themselves from the group on the plea that they had not signed the letter addressed to the president for purposes now being claimed, Mir said the group still respected such legislators. From the heart of their heart, he said, these members were still with the group.

“An MNA, and that too a graduate, cannot be supposed to sign a letter without knowing the purpose for which it would be used”, the spokesman of the dissident group argued.

Meanwhile, PML(F) President Pir Pagara expressed his support for the ruling PML’s dissidents in their complaints against Chaudhry Shujaat Husain.

However, Pir says it is for President Musharraf to bring about a change at an appropriate time.

Two members of the group, PML’s Mazhar Qureshi and Akhtar Kanju called on Pir Pagara in Karachi on Friday and exchanged views with him.

Pir told Dawn after the meeting that since the dissidents belonged to a different party, he had nothing to do with them. But, he said, since they were opposed to Chaudhry Shujaat, he would extend them all possible cooperation.

The nature of cooperation, he said, depended upon the need and the situation.

He said he would also support the dissidents because, like him, they were also with President Mushrraf.

The Sindhi leader was of the opinion that the situation would compel the president to bring about a change and it was for him to decide on its nature and timing.