ISLAMABAD, July 23: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday assigned to PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain the task of ensuring implementation of madressah reforms.

Informed sources told Dawn that the president had asked Chaudhry Shujaat to devise with religious leaders and ulema an early strategy to curb extremism.

President Musharraf gave the PML chief the task in a meeting, which was also attended by Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvaiz Elahi and the Minister for Political Affairs, Amir Muqam, and discussed the political situation.

Earlier, the PML chief had a separate meeting with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on the aftermath of the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa operation and the need for improving the law and order situation.

During the meeting with Gen Musharraf, the PML leaders were advised to devise an effective political strategy to win the forthcoming elections.

Sources said the president asked the PML leaders to give tickets to ‘strong and reputed candidates’.

Media adviser to the president Maj-Gen (retd) Rashid Qureshi said that Chaudhry Shujaat and Mr Amir Muqam had met the president. But he said he did not know about the Punjab chief minister’s meeting with the president.

However, sources said Mr Parvaiz Elahi was there to apprise the president about the situation after the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

Sources said the PML chief also informed the president of his meeting with MQM leader Altaf Hussain in London and their future political cooperation for contesting elections with each other’s support.

Amir Muqam told Dawn that he would be holding meetings with political and religious leaders of the NWFP to stop the violence in the province. “The president has given me this assignment and from Tuesday I would start meeting political and religious leaders of my province,” Amir Muqam said. He is the president of the NWFP PML.

“I also need to take into the confidence the NWFP government so that the rising militancy in our province is controlled,” the minister for political affairs said.