LAHORE, July 21: PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif has directed his secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra to contact other opposition parties having representation in parliament to seek their cooperation for a no-trust motion against the prime minister.

The MMA, the ANP, the PTI and the PONAM will be approached to take a final decision on a move which is aimed more at castigating the government for its decision to privatise the Steel Mills and its alleged failures on other fronts.

Jhagra said on Friday a timeframe for the proposed no-confidence motion would be finalised in consultation with other opposition parties.

The ARD meeting held in London on July 2 had set a deadline of July 31 for Gen Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to step down, failing which the opposition would bring a no-trust motion.

Jhagra, who is also secretary-general of the 16-party coalition, said it might take the alliance a couple of weeks after July 31 to finalise a date for the motion against the premier.

He said he believed that a greater opposition alliance against the government would be formed in the near future. He said all opposition parties were of the view that democracy should be restored, the army quit politics and the 1973 Constitution restored to its pre-takeover shape.