ISLAMABAD, Nov 24: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal believes that new political grouping may emerge on ideological lines after its lawmakers resign from the National Assembly.

Talking to media personnel in the Parliament House cafeteria on Friday, MMA deputy parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said that the controversial Women Protection Bill had been passed with the help of the People’s Party Parliamentarians as 46 ruling party MNAs had stayed away during voting.

He said: “We are in contact with Mian Nawaz Sharif who is eager to see a grand opposition alliance which is also desired by other opposition parties, except the PPP.”

Commenting on speculations about a split in the MMA on the resignation issue, he said that it was the only alliance which had contested elections in 2002 on a single symbol and remained intact despite a number of problems, adding that it would further strengthen after the resignations. He said that though the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy never took the MMA into confidence over its no-confidence move against the prime minister and the PPP adopted its own line on many issues, the MMA had delayed resigning from the provincial assemblies and Senate to pave the way for a unified decision with other opposition parties.

He accused PPP leader Benazir Bhutto of stabbing the opposition in the back by retreating on the issue of grand opposition alliance and now playing to the tune of the government on the bill.

When asked whether the PM-N would join the MMA in resigning, Mr Ahmed said that the real question was how far the two major parties in the ARD would go along after both ditching each other on a number of political issues.

After the PPP’s solo flight on the bill and grand opposition alliance issue, he said, the Charter of Democracy signed by Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif and endorsed by other parties in the ARD ceased to exist.

Answering a question, Mr Ahmed said one should ask PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain why was he deviating from his promise of resigning from the assembly when the ulema nominated by him had rejected the bill describing it as un-Islamic.

About reports that his party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F), was considering action against him for his individual act of tendering resignation, he said that he had neither been given any notice nor a party reprimand against him was under way because he had handed over his resignation to the MMA president as done by other legislators of the alliance.