June 11, 2007	Monday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 25, 1428

LAHORE, June 10: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) thinks that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) should review its policy towards the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) after its willingness to quit the Balochistan coalition government on certain conditions. However, there is no change in the PPP’s position and therefore no possibility of a grand opposition alliance the PML-N had been trying to make for long.

A central PML-N leader said while talking to Dawn that so far the PPP had been expressing its reservations about sitting with the MMA because of the religious alliance’s representation in the Balochistan government, but now that the grouping of religious parties was willing to part company with the PML if other opposition parties joined hands with it to set up a new government in the country’s most backward province, there was no justification for the PPP to stay away from the MMA.

A PPP leader said that the MMA was responsible for imposing “dictatorial rule” on the country and thus there was no question of the PPP sitting with the MMA. He said the religious alliance had committed an “unpardonable sin” by extending support to the ruling party in the adoption of the 17th constitutional amendment.

“Perhaps the PPP doesn’t want to annoy the West”, a PML-N leader said while speculating on the likely reasons behind Ms Benazir Bhutto’s reservations about the MMA.

He said since PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif had announced that his party was willing to support Ms Bhutto to become prime minister, there was no justification for the PPP chairperson not to participate in the multi-party conference being held in London next month. However, he said, the MPC would be held as scheduled even if Ms Bhutto did not turn up.

“Her absence won’t make much difference if other invitees attended the conference”.

The leader hoped that the participants in the MPC would be able to formulate an effective strategy to get rid of dictatorship and restore democracy. He admitted that such a strategy could not be worked out in the past, but the decisions to be taken at the MPC would give a new direction to the situation.

The PML-N leader hoped that the Western countries would play an important role in ensuring that the upcoming general elections were open and honest. He claimed that at various meetings, the representatives of various European countries had assured that they would pressure the government to allow the exiled leaders to take part in the polls.

Meanwhile, brisk preparations are being made for the MPC.

A PML-N leader said that his party would be willing to include in the agenda any issue proposed by any of the invitees.