ISLAMABAD, Feb 23: The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) on Saturday unanimously decided not to join a national government and to sit on the opposition benches in the National Assembly and to form government in Balochistan.

The party’s winning and defeated members for the National Assembly met at the PML House to assess and analyse the reasons and causes of the party’s drubbing in the general election.

Party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain later told a press conference that his party had set a new democratic tradition by accepting its defeat and hoped this gesture would be appreciated by the winning parties.

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi claimed that though the party had failed to win majority in the assemblies, it had polled more votes than the PML-N.

Only 23 out of 38 party MNAs-elect attended the meeting, which gave credence to reports that some of them were in contact with the PPP and PML-N.

The party leadership, however, attributed the low turnout to other factors.

Three out of four provincial party chiefs, along with Ijazul Haq, Mian Manzoor Wattoo, Hamid Nasir Chattha and Gohar Ayub, attended the meeting briefly.

Former Balochistan chief minister and provincial party president Jam Muhammad Yousuf did not attend the meeting because he was busy in the formation of provincial government.

Former Kashmir Committee chairman Hamid Nasir Chattha, who held a meeting on Friday with PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in an apparent effort to revive his past relations, attended the meeting.

Former Punjab chief minister Mian Manzoor Wattoo said the party should give a positive response to any invitation for joining a national government.

Former president Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari stayed away because of repolling in his constituency.

Several stalwarts, including the ticket holders, blamed the leadership for the party’s defeat, insiders said.

The sources said that the defeated ticket holders put the blame for defeat on the Lal Masjid operation, imposition of emergency which led to sacking of judges, atta crisis and electricity and gas loadshedding.

Majority of the speakers in over three hours meeting supported the idea of party’s sitting on the opposition benches instead of manoeuvring for joining a government of national unity.

Some members from Sindh complained of massive rigging in the elections by PPP workers to defeat their candidates as result of which the party decided to constitute a three-member legal aid committee of senators, including Wasim Sajjad, S.M. Zafar and Dr Khalid Ranjha to take up legal issues with the Election Commission.

Along with Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said the party would play a positive role in the assemblies by pointing out misdeeds of the governing parties and would support if any good legislation was introduced.

He said his party stands for ‘live and let live’ policy and will refrain from any confrontation to allow the winning parties fulfil their promises with the electorate, including restoration of judges, bringing down prices of items of daily use and petroleum.

Former minister from Sindh Ghaus Bakhsh Mehr was highly critical of the way party was run in the last five years and stressed changes in its organisation to make it formidable political force.