ISLAMABAD, March 10: Pakistan People’s Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto on Saturday nominated a seven-member delegation of her party for the multi-party conference of opposition parties in London on March 24 and 25.

According to Farhatullah Babar, spokesman for Ms Bhutto, the PPP delegation will be led by Makhdoom Amin Fahim. Other members of the delegation are Opposition Leader in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Senator Dr Safdar Abbasi, party’s information secretary Sherry Rahman, former high commissioner to UK Wajid Shamsul Hassan and former director-general of the Federal Investigation Agency Rahman Malik.

Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif has convened the MPC in London with a purpose to formulating a joint strategy by the opposition parties regarding the forthcoming general election. PPP leaders had expressed displeasure over what they called a unilateral move and had called for convening the conference from the ARD platform.

The issue was resolved after several rounds of talks between the two major component parties of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and the parties agreed on the agenda and declaration of the MPC. However, Ms Benazir declined to attend the conference and said she would send her delegation only to save the ARD from disintegration.

According to sources in the PPP, Ms Bhutto is not participating in the MPC due to the presence of leaders of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal in it.