ISLAMABAD, April 3: The government is reported to have made fresh contacts with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) through “middlemen”, a senior PPP leader told Dawn on condition of anonymity.

The PPP leader, who is close to party chairperson Benazir Bhutto, said it was true that the government had recently made contacts with the party, but the PPP was looking at the development as an attempt by the military government to break the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) before the next general elections.

He said that during a recent conversation between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, the two leaders said they were aware of the government’s move to create a rift in the ARD. He said that the “middlemen” had asked Ms Bhutto to quit the ARD saying that it would be difficult for the government to have any arrangement with the PPP if it remained in alliance with the PML-N.

At the same time, he said, some other people had contacted PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif in London asking him to quit the ARD as it would be difficult for the government to have any agreement with the PML-N while it allied with the PPP.

The PPP leader said Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto had agreed in their last meeting that they would remain in contact and share information with each other.

The PPP leader, however, said that the party had noticed a change in the government’s stance. Earlier, Gen Musharraf was not ready to accept any political role of Ms Bhutto even if the PPP came to power. But now, he said, the “government emissaries” had started saying that Ms Bhutto was an important leader, commanded great respect and could play the role that was being played by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in India.

About the government’s recent action of freezing Asif Zardari’s assets and property, he said, the messengers had asked the party that it should not worry about the matter because Mr Zardari had already been allowed to leave the country. Moreover, he said, the messengers had told the PPP leadership that once they filed appeal against the decision, “the things would be alright.”

The PPP leader said that Ms Bhutto had directed PPP’s office-bearers and senior leaders not to get “excited” over any offer made by the government and beware of Gen Musharraf’s moves aimed at breaking the opposition’s unity.