December 05, 2007	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 24, 1428

RAWALPINDI, Dec 4: In a move to put an end to the internal grouping in the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the city, an 11- member committee has been constituted by the central leadership of the party for uniting the scattered leadership in order to yield maximum results in the upcoming general election.

The local representatives of the party including nazims and naib nazims have been given the task to diffuse the prevailing tension between two groups in the party, who are ready to contest elections in Rawalpindi.

The committee was formed during a meeting, held at the party’s central secretariat here on Tuesday. Naheed Khan, political secretary to PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, presided over the meeting. Ms Khan would review the progress in this regard by holding meetings.

Sources in the party said that the committee included Mian Imran Hayat, Nasir Mir, Rana Sohail Pasha, Qazi Sultan, Sardar Salim, Raja Altaf, Tahir Gondal, Rizwan Sanni, Yaqoob Bola, Malik Zulfiqar Awan and Ilyas Farooqi.

Currently the groups of Aamir Fida Paracha and Agha Riazul Islam are at loggerheads with each other, and during election campaigns publicly attack each other.

Ms Bhutto took notice of the internal bickering in the party and told Ms Khan to unite the scattered party leaders in the city.

Grouping in the party is feared to benefit the candidates of Pakistan Muslim League (PML), particularly former railway minister Sheikh Rashid, who is contesting elections from NA-55 and NA-56 against PPP-nominated candidate Aamir Fida Paracha.

Interestingly, Agha Riazul Islam, another PPP candidate, is also contesting from the same constituencies and has told Mr Paracha to quit elections in his favour.