LAHORE, Jan 21: The PPP-Patriots would take any decision about their future course of action, including whether or not to merge with the PML, only after receiving instructions from President Pervez Musharraf, the party’s secretary-general told Dawn on Sunday.

Faisal Saleh Hayat said the party had 16 MNAs and 26 MPAs in Punjab, NWFP and Sindh, and all of them would take a collective decision on their future strategy.

So far, he said, Gen Musharraf had not told the PPP-Patriots how they should proceed.

When it was pointed out that two MNAs and a couple of other legislators had already joined the ruling PML, he said they had taken a decision on their own, but the remaining legislators would stay together.

Faisal, who is also federal environment minister, said: “When we had left the PPP (of Ms Benazir Bhutto), we had joined hands with Gen Musharraf. And since then our politics is based on the policies of the general. He will decide our future.”

He said the PPP-Patriots leaders had excellent relations with all PML leaders, including Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Shujaat Husain and Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi. Still, he said, they would follow instructions coming from Gen Musharraf.

He said although the situation in NWFP was much different from the one in Punjab and Sindh, Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao would also go by the decision taken by President Musharraf.

He was all praise for President Musharraf, saying he was a liberal and progressive leader like the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He said Gen Musharraf and Mr Bhutto were fearless and visionary leaders and men of commitment.

He said it was because of the military uniform of President Musharraf that the democratic system was going strong and the assemblies would be completing their constitutional tenure of five years. He said it was because of the positive contribution made by the military uniform that his party wanted the president to retain it for another term.

He said the general’s uniform symbolised the smooth functioning of the parliamentary system.

He defended the Patriots decision to break ranks with the PPP and join hands with Gen Musharraf after the 2002 elections.

He recalled that after the previous elections, Gen Musharraf had extended an invitation for talks to Ms Bhutto, but the former prime minister refused. She had opted for confrontation instead.

The minister said if the PPP-Patriots had also followed the same policy, there would have been no democracy in the country.

He said Ms Bhutto had said on several occasions that she was in contact with Gen Musharraf, and had she held talks four years ago, the situation today would have been much different from what it was at present.

“I and my party stand vindicated politically,” he said, emphasising that a dialogue was the right course in all situations.

The PPP-Patriots secretary-general alleged that Ms Bhutto was surrounded by some short-sighted leaders in 2002, and the same kind of people were advising her at present. It was for this reason that the party was passing through a crisis, he said.