January 18, 2008	Friday	Muharram 08, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: Former information minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Q vice-president Senator Mohammad Ali Durrani has accused the PML-N leadership of following double standard in politics.

Talking to newsmen here on Thursday, Mr Durrani said there was no chance for Nawaz Sharif or Shahbaz Sharif to ascend to power.

Popular vote on February 18 would decide about the next prime minister, he said, adding that there were only two candidates for the post, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

Criticising the Sharif brothers, Mr Durrani said they had two faces, “while the younger brother holds meetings with president’s aides for striking a deal with President Pervez Musharraf, the elder brother uses derogatory language against the president just to appease the media”.

The former minister said that after winning the polls the PML-Q would invite all parties to form a national government.

Rejecting the idea of forming of a national government before the elections, he said those who were calling for a national government were in fact “seeking to get into the corridors of power through backdoor”.

The senator said the situation demanded national harmony and not a national government. Elections schedule had been announced and any delay could harm the democratic process, he added. He termed Nawaz Sharif’s demand for national government ‘childish and immature’. He said the PML-N wanted to escape the election process.

“The role of the PML-N leadership has been minimised and now they are acting as mere extras blindly following the

PPP co-chairperson,” he said.

—Staff Reporter