BAHAWALPUR, Aug 21: Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Makhdum Syed Ali Hasan Gilani has claimed that 30 MNAs have formed a group and they will decide collectively about their role in the presidential election.

Talking to Dawn on his cell phone from Ahmedpur East on Tuesday, Mr Gilani said “dissidents” had distanced themselves from the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) because neither the party nor the government had consulted them over the presidential reference against the chief justice of Pakistan and military operation at Lal Masjid.

He said the formation of the block was at its early stage, so the media could not be informed about the names of its members. He said that several important political personalities had joined the group.

He said that he deliberately had abstained from the meeting of President Gen Pervez Musharraf in Bahawalpur on Sunday and that he would not seek PML ticket for elections.

Mr Gilani said he was part of the Nawab Salahuddin group and would meet the Nawab who is expected to come back within a day or so from London.