August 12, 2008	Tuesday	Sha'aban 9, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Aug 11: The Pakistan Muslim League-Q, the largest political force supporting President Pervez Musharraf, failed to demonstrate its full strength on Monday when only 14 of its MNAs attended a meeting of the parliamentary group.

The leaders of the party were not willing to give the exact number of legislators who attended the meeting held Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s house. Some put the number at only 24 while others said 30 of the party’s 54 MNAs were present.

The meeting expressed full support for Gen (retd) Musharraf.

Nine MNAs of the PML-Q were reported to have held a separate meeting and called on Pakistan People’s Party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to assure him of their support for impeachment of the president. According to sources, they included Nasrullah Bijarani, Israr Tareen, Prince Nawaz, Sardar Bahadur Sihar, Sardar Talib Nakai, Sadiq Khan, Noman Langrial and Pir Aslam Bodla.

Meanwhile, Chaudhry Shujaat urged the government to do away with the politics of power struggle and non-issues and take steps to solve the plethora of problems faced by the country.

Speaking at a function held in connection with Independence Day by PML-Q’s minorities wing, he warned that the government was playing a dangerous game and would soon find itself in a blind alley.

Chaudhry Shujaat said the PML-Q was ready to hold talks with any party.

The party’s secretary-general Senator Mushahid Hussain said the rulers had reinstated ministers instead of fulfilling the promise to reinstate the deposed judges.