ISLAMABAD, June 25: A meeting of the heads of the component parties of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) will be held in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the strategy for the expected local government elections in the country. Talking to Dawn here on Saturday, ARD secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said the meeting had been convened to discuss the possibility of seat adjustments in the local government polls.

Mr Jhagra, who is also the secretary-general of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said his party had already discussed the plan for the expected local government elections and it would put it before the other ARD component parties to take them into confidence.

Mr Jhagra said the PML-N had decided that it would be left on the local leadership to finalize the seat adjustment with any political party, other than the ruling PML or its coalition partners, at local level where they deemed it necessary.

Responding to a question, Mr Jhagra said the seat adjustment could also be made with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA).

About other items on the agenda of the ARD meeting, he said the prevailing political situation and law and order situation in the country would also be discussed in length at the meeting.

About the possibility of launching an anti-government campaign, he said, though the issue was not on the agenda the meeting would finalize a date for the already announced public meeting in Abbottabad. In the last meeting of the ARD, Mr Jhagra had himself announced that the Alliance would hold a public meeting in Abbottabad in the third week of June. However, the meeting was postponed due to the budget session of the National Assembly.

Mr Jhagra said hopefully the ARD leadership would finalize the date for the public rally in the meeting.

In response to a question, he said the ARD meeting was scheduled to be held on June 25, but it was postponed for two days on the request of Alliance chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim as he had some important work to do in his hometown Hala.