December 06, 2006	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 14, 1427

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LAHORE, Dec 5: The PPP-Parliamentarians has no objection to the PML-N’s announcement that it will not make an election alliance with the former, but it would have been better if it had consulted its allies in the ARD before taking such a policy decision, says coalition chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

“The PML-N is free to take any decision to carry out its future programmes, but it would have been better if they had consulted the parties in the ARD before making such an announcement,” said Mr Fahim while talking to Dawn on Tuesday.

PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif had said on Monday that his party would not make an electoral alliance with the PPP, and the two parties would contest the next elections from their respective platforms.

He had said this in an interview after the first day of meeting of the PML-N leaders in London under the chairmanship of Nawaz Sharif. Leaders from various parts of the country will, one after the other, submit their reports about the election preparations to the former prime minister during the next two weeks.

Shahbaz Sharif had said the PPP and the PML-N had their own manifestoes, and thus would contest the elections separately.

Mr Fahim, who is also president of the PPP-Parliamentarians, said his party would not like to indulge in any kind of argument with the PML-N, but would discuss the matter with Nawaz Sharif either at a meeting or by phone. Then he would submit a report to Ms Benazir Bhutto in Dubai during the next couple of days.

Asked whether the PPP-Parliamentarians had taken a principled decision on whether it would contest the next election independently or from the platform of an electoral alliance, Mr Fahim said the matter would be taken up after the announcement of the election schedule.

He said the party would decide whether to make adjustments with other parties or form an alliance.

He said the only thing which was clear at the moment was that the PPP would challenge the ruling coalition in the election. He said he was not in a position to say anything about the state of relationship with the MMA as the religious alliance was not clear about its course of action.

However, he recalled that in by-elections the PPP and the MMA had supported each other’s candidates.

Mr Fahim said his party had already started its election campaign by holding public meetings in Punjab through which people were being mobilised. Similar meetings, he said, were also being planned for Sindh and other provinces.

As for the selection of party candidates, he said the process would be started at an appropriate time.

A four-member committee has been constituted by Ms Bhutto to select suitable candidates for all NA and provincial seats from Punjab.