July 14, 2008	Monday	Rajab 10, 1429

ISLAMABAD, July 13: Pakistan Muslim League (PML) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Sunday exposed what he termed false claim of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders that they had succeeded in winning over one of his party MNAs.

Elaborating the tale, Mr Hussain told a news conference held after the party’s CEC meeting at the PML House that when Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani embarked on a visit of Malaysia on July 7 he also included an opposition MNA Sheikh Waqas Akram in his entourage of 54.

When the prime minister was called by Mr Zardari to divert direction of his plane towards Dubai to meet him instead of returning home, the PML MNA had to accompany him because after all he could not jump out of the plane.

He alleged that some PPP circles started claiming that they had won over one of the PML legislators (Mr Akram) to their side.

The PML leader pointed towards Sheikh Waqas Akram who had not only attended the party’s CEC but was standing besides other leaders at the news conference.

It may be recalled that Sheikh Waqas Akram had won for the first time in the by-elections from Jhang after Dr Tahirul Qadri resigned from his seat. He managed to retain the seat in February 18 elections.

Mr Akram was also a key figure among the party leaders who released ‘white paper’ on 100-day performance of the present government.

When asked for his comments Mr Akram told Dawn that he had witnessed the worst waste of national resources in Dubai where th huge prime ministerial entourage was lodged in a hotel which charges no less than $500 per night.

He said he was the only opposition legislator amongst about a dozen treasury MNAs along with an even larger number of journalists and some businessmen apart from bureaucrats and prime minister’s staff.

Mr Akram termed prime minister’s participation in the D-8 conference an exercise in futility because only three out of eight member countries heads of government attended the conference.