ISLAMABAD: Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Wednesday said that an alternative plan was ready in case a deal with the Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson did not get through. He said Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman would have an important role in it. However, he declined to give details, but said Maulana Fazl would not be offered the coveted slot of prime minister.

Addressing a press conference here, the minister said that 80 per cent of the deal with the PPP had been finalised and the remaining irritants would be resolved in the next two days.

He indicated that President Gen Musharraf would shed his uniform as a result of the deal which would be provided constitutional cover by getting it approved from the parliament.

Mr Rashid said the uniform issue had almost been resolved and President Musharraf would himself make an announcement in this respect after the deal package was finalised. He said the issue of withdrawal of cases against Benazir Bhutto had also been settled while an amendment to the law restricting third tenure as prime minister was yet to be unresolved.

The minister said there was no demand from the PPP side for clipping powers of the president to dissolve the assemblies in peculiar circumstances under the Article 58(2) (b) which had been re-inserted into the Constitution through the 13th Constitutional Amendment.

Mr Rashid pointed out that there were some irritants as well but said he would not like to disclose these at this stage. He said the deal had been under way for almost a year.

Asked as to how a government which kept on terming Benazir Bhutto a security risk was now negotiating a deal with her, he said this was being done under the doctrine of necessity. He pointed out that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had also described Benazir Bhutto as security risk, but he signed the charter of democracy with her.

The minister said the government was not in contact with PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif at any level. He said that even Brig Niaz, who was in London these days, had refused to hold a meeting with Nawaz Sharif.

He confirmed that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had been asked by the Chaudhrys to resign, but said it was an old story and had belatedly been disclosed by Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. He said nobody could belittle the stature of Chaudhrys in politics.

He ruled out the possibility of rejoining the PML-N and said he could not forget the insult of being denied a party ticket in the 2002 elections. “I will not accept even if an apology is tendered to me.”