LAHORE, July 28: Former Punjab chief minister and speaker Haneef Ramay believes that a meeting ground still can be found between the PPP and Gen Pervez Musharraf if the military leader is genuinely interested in making Pakistan a liberal, progressive and democratic country.

In a Dawn Dialogue interview in Lahore, the PPP leader said the immediate release of Mr Asif Ali Zardari, who has been behind bars for the past several years, could be the first step in cooperation between the two sides.

Mr Ramay pointed out that Ms Bhutto had welcomed Gen Musharraf’s takeover in October 1999 and sent signals for cooperation for the restoration of democracy. However, he said, fnthe gulf between the two widened after the controversial referendum, through which Gen Musharraf claimed to have been elected president for five years.

Mr Ramay, who once edited the PPP daily Musawat, strongly argued that Punjab should be divided into three provinces to stem the sense of deprivation among the other provinces. Other federating units, he said, could also consider redrawing their boundaries if their leaderships felt this to be necessary.

He felt upset over the lack of harmony among the provinces, saying the situation had reached a point were they were unable to resolve their differences and one province had sought international arbitration to settle the water dispute.