April 11, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 4, 1429

LAHORE, April 10: Unlike in three other provincial assemblies, there is a possibility of a contest for the posts of speaker and deputy speaker in the Punjab assembly, although the main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League-Q, has decided to boycott the election.

Senior parliamentarians Rana Mohammad Iqbal Khan and Rana Mashud Khan of the PML-N filed papers on Thursday for the posts and Rana Iqbal resigned as senior vice-president of the party.

The PML-Q ‘forward bloc’, claiming to comprise 25 members, decided to give some colour to the show by fielding its candidates, Najaf Abbas Khan Sial and Chaudhry Arshad Jat. The elections will be held on Friday.

Najaf Sial, the founder of the forward bloc, said the objective behind the decision to contest was to advance the democratic process.

He said the step had been taken to demonstrate the group’s opposition to the policy of boycott being followed by the Chaudhrys-led PML-Q. He said a boycott might damage the democratic process.

He clarified that the move was not aimed at seeking cabinet posts by pressurising the PML-N in return for letting its nominees get elected unopposed.

When asked if the nominations would be withdrawn in favour of the PML-N candidates, he said a final decision would be taken in consultation with all members of the bloc on Friday morning.

Provincial PML-N chief Sardar Zulfikar Khosa said at the time of the filing of nomination papers of his party’s candidates that the Q-League had no excuse to boycott the democratic process.

He said the PML-N had not boycotted assembly proceedings when police had dragged opposition MPAs on The Mall and entered the Masjid-i-Shuhada while wearing shoes.

He said his party had no contact with the forward bloc.