ISLAMABAD, April 18: Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that his party is ready for a deal with the Pakistan People’s Party provided Ms Benazir Bhutto accepts President Gen Pervez Musharraf in uniform.
"Our major demand is that she must accept President Musharraf in uniform, otherwise there will be no deal with the PPP," he said while talking to Dawn here on Wednesday.
He said his party wanted Ms Bhutto to get President Musharraf re-elected if at all she was looking for any deal with the government.
Chaudhry Shujaat's comments are in sharp contrast to the views of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani, who have explicitly said on a number of occasions that there could be no deal with a party whose leadership had robbed the country of its wealth.
Senior PPP politician and Leader of Opposition in Senate, Senator Raza Rabbani, has also said a number of times that there could be no deal with the president in military uniform.
The PML president said that his party was not negotiating any deal with Ms Bhutto. Perhaps it was being spearheaded by some other people, he said.
He, however, made it clear that in case a deal was struck, the PML and the PPP would contest elections separately and there would be no electoral alliance between the two parties.
"We will fight the general election as a PPP opponent, but after the elections some arrangements could be worked out to form a coalition government.
"And before that both the parties could also discuss the formation of a caretaker government that will supervise the general elections," the PML president said.
He said the major objective of the caretaker government would be to hold free and fair elections so that nobody could challenge them at any stage.
"Then we can also discuss how to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions in Pakistan. Also, issues concerning the role of the Election Commission could be mutually discussed to reach an understanding," the PML leader said.
When asked whether he had given his opinion to the president about the deal with Ms Bhutto, Chaudhry Shujaat said his party had certain reservations in this regard and the people concerned had been duly informed of these reservations.
"We have apprised him (the president) of our point of view," he said.
When asked won’t it be difficult for him to have a deal with a party that he never liked in the past, Chaudhry Shujaat said: "I have no personal enmity with anybody and could go along with her (Ms Bhutto) provided she is ready to accept certain conditions."
The PML chief’s attention was drawn to conflicting statements by Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid and Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani about talks with the People’s Paarty, Mr Shujaat replied: “Let them say whatever they like. I have told you about my position as the PML head.”
