August 30, 2007	Thursday	Sha'aban 16, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: A federal minister, three MNAs, a senator and a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League on Wednesday held a meeting with party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and registered their ‘strong protest’ against what they termed the ‘ditching’ of the party by holding talks for a deal with PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

The delegation included federal Minister for States and Frontier Religious Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind, Lt-Gen (retd) Majeed Malik, MNAs Chaudhry Imranullah, Razina Alam and Makhdoom Ahmed Alam Anwar and Senator Gulshan Saeed.

They urged Chaudhry Shujaat to inform President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on their behalf that the talks with Ms Bhutto were being held without the consent of the party which was being ditched after having provided him eight years of unflinching support.

They also complained against federal minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for his support for the Musharraf-Benazir deal in order to save his own political position.

After the meeting, Chaudhry Shujaat said in a statement that “dialogue with all political parties, including Pakistan People’s Party, is going on and there is no talk of ‘deal’ with any party”.

Confirming that talks were being held between president’s negotiating teams and Ms Bhutto, he said: “Although dialogue with other political parties, including the PPP, is going on, so far it has not reached any conclusion”.

Senator Gulshan Saeed from Lahore categorically stated that she would not vote for Gen Musharraf if he reached a deal with the PPP.

Makhdoom Ahmed Alam Anwar from southern Punjab who recently refused to attend a party legislators’ meeting with Gen Musharraf in Multan argued that the Musharraf-BB deal betrayed the party which had consistently supported the president.

Gen Majeed Malik said: “We are not opposed to political understanding and reconciliation among political parties but there should be no deal at the cost of the mainstream party which has been supporting Gen Musharraf for so long.”

He said although he had little interaction with the Chaudhrys for quite some time due to various reasons, but he had come to him in the present circumstances when PML’s position was being compromised.

He expressed his reservations over the ouster of Syed Kabir Ali Wasti from the party office at this critical juncture.

Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind said that the constitutional changes should be left to the next assemblies and there should be no deal even if “we have to sit in the opposition in the next parliament”.

Chaudhry Shujaat in his statement claimed that the PML would respond to the proposals and suggestions presented by Benazir Bhutto.