ISLAMABAD, May 23: A meeting of the heads of component parties of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) will be held here on Tuesday to review the current political situation in the country, particularly with reference to the Balochistan situation. Talking to Dawn here on Monday, ARD secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said the main purpose of convening the meeting was to discuss the situation in Balochistan and to listen to the viewpoints of those alliance leaders, who had recently visited the troubled province.

ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim will preside over the meeting, which will be held at the central secretariat of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

Mr Jhagra said the meeting would also chalk out the future strategy to deal with the possible political events.

He said in the meeting, the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy leaders were also expected to finalize a schedule for the public meetings in various parts of the country as part of mass mobilisation campaign against the regime.

Meanwhile, sources told Dawn that the PML-N leaders would request the PPP leadership to soften its stand on the issue of joining hands with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) so that the two alliances could unite on minimum one-point agenda of launching a joint struggle for the restoration of 1973 Constitution on the position of October 12, 1999.