HYDERABAD, Oct 11: JUP Senior Vice-President Dr Sahibzada Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair, has expressed surprise over a statement of PPP leader Makhdoom Mohammad Amin Fahim that negotiations between the PPP and the government were a thing of the past.

In a statement faxed to Dawn on Wednesday, the MNA said that the statement of Makhdoom Amin Fahim did not hold any water when PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto herself had said that contacts between the party and the government were being maintained.

He said that this view was further strengthened as Makhdoom Saheb at a meeting at the residence of Chaudhry Nisar had rejected the proposal of a grand opposition alliance and also supported amendments proposed by the government to the Hudood Ordinance.

He said that the announcement by Makhdoom Saheb that Benazir Bhutto will return to the country three months before the election and the release of Yousuf Raza Gilani from jail also spoke volumes about the ongoing dialogue between the PPP and the government.