August 22, 2007	Wednesday	Sha’aban 8, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 21: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is yet to decide whether it should support or oppose President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s election for another term. The party says that it has made no commitment with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) or Gen Musharraf in this regard.

“We neither gave nor were asked to give a commitment,” said MQM MNA Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi, adding: “We were briefed by President Gen Musharraf on the issue but neither our commitment was asked for nor we gave any.”

Talking to Dawn on Tuesday, Mr Rizvi said the party was presently monitoring the situation in the country and carefully weighing the arguments of supporters and opponents of Gen Musharraf’s plan to get himself re-elected from the existing assemblies in uniform. He said there were three different opinions about the president’s re-election.

He said there were parties which opposed his re-election at all costs with or without uniform, there were parties who believed that he could contest the election in uniform and then there were some parties who believed that Gen Musharraf would be acceptable as president if he quit his army chief post.

When asked about MQM’s point of view, he said, it was the responsibility of the party’s Rabita Committee to decide on the issue. He expressed the hope that after closely monitoring and analysing the political and constitutional situation in the country, the MQM Rabita Committee would soon announce its decision. “Presently, it can be said that the MQM has adopted a wait-and-see policy,” he remarked. Mr Rizvi said Gen Musharraf during his recent visit to Karachi told MQM parliamentarians and leaders that the presidential elections would be held between September 15 and October 15, but he did not outline as to how he would implement the plan.

Meanwhile, sources told Dawn that there was a strong feeling in the MQM that the party should not contest the next elections with the ruling PML. They said the party leaders considered PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi as the main opponents of MQM’s plan to expand in the Punjab province. It may be recalled that despite being in the ruling coalition, the MQM had several times openly criticised the PML policies.

The MQM even organised countrywide protests against the PML for holding talks with Ulema and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) on the issue of the controversial Women Protection Bill.