July 27, 2006	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 30, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, July 26: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) will start making contacts formally with other opposition parties, including the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), from Thursday to seek their support in its decision to move a no confidence motion against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Talking to Dawn on Wednesday, People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) spokesman and former senator Farhatullah Babar said that ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim would be arriving here on Thursday noon from the UK to hold negotiations with the opposition parties.

It may be mentioned that the ARD in its July 2 meeting in London had set a deadline of July 31 for the rulers to quit the government and announced that it would move a no confidence motion against the prime minister, if they did not resign.

Mr Babar said that a meeting between the ARD leaders with MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rahman was expected on Thursday evening. He said in the meeting the PPP would be represented by Mr Fahim and Raja Pervez Ashraf while PML-N secretary general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra would represent his party.

Sources told Dawn that the ARD had decided to move the no confidence motion even if it did not get the support of the MMA or other opposition parties. The sources said the ARD had already prepared the no confidence motion and it would be submitted before the National Assembly session scheduled to start from

August 4.

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