January 19, 2007	Friday	Zilhaj 28, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 18: The leadership of People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) will meet here on Friday in an effort to iron out their differences on the issue of holding a multi-party conference (MPC) in London on Nawaz Sharif’s initiative.

Earlier, the meeting was scheduled to be held on Thursday, but it was postponed as PPP president Makhdoom Amin Fahim had to rush Sindh for some important matters.

The decision to hold the meeting was made during a visit of a four-member delegation, led by Mr Fahim, to the office of PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq on Tuesday.

The PPP leaders, sources said, explained to Mr Haq about the party’s reservations on the PPP chairperson’s participation in the proposed London MPC.

Besides Amin Fahim, the PPP delegation comprised Opposition Leader in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani, party’s secretary general Raja Pervez Ashraf and Senator Dr Safdar Abbasi.

It may be recalled that in a meeting held in Dubai on January 9 the senior leadership of the PPP decided in principle that Ms Bhutto would not attend the MPC. The party, however, decided at that time not to make a formal announcement of the decision and to refer the matter to the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) for this purpose.

The PPP had already convened the CEC meeting in Islamabad on January 20 for this purpose. The sources said there was a possibility that the party might not boycott the MPC and send its representatives to present the party’s viewpoint.

The leaders of the two major opposition parties are also expected to discuss the recent ongoing controversy regarding the election of the president for the next term.