ISLAMABAD, Oct 5: A division within the parliamentary group of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Friday forced the party leadership to delay the decision on participation in the presidential election until Saturday morning.

“We have decided not to resign from the assemblies after promulgation of the ‘reconciliation ordinance’ by the government, but yet to decide whether our members should cast their votes in the presidential election or abstain from voting,” said PPP parliamentary leader and party’s candidate Makhdoom Amin Fahim while briefing a small group of reporters after a meeting here.

Sources told Dawn that a group of party hardliners, unhappy over PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s decision of reaching an understanding with Gen Musharraf, was opposed to the decision of taking part in the voting process. However, the sources said another group was of the view that if the party had decided not to resign from the assemblies then there was no harm in taking part in the voting process. They said the party had now left the issue to Ms Bhutto.

Mr Fahim said he had convened another meeting of the parliamentary group at 8am on Saturday in which a final decision would be made.

Senators Safdar Abbasi and Latif Khosa and PPP secretary-general Raja Pervez Ashraf were present at the briefing.

Replying to a question, Senator Safdar Abbasi said the ordinance promulgated by the president was exactly the same presented to the regime by the PPP. He said one thing was clear: the party would never vote for Gen Musharraf. He said the government had asked the PPP not to quit the assemblies and his party had put three conditions for doing so. He said that the government had accepted only one demand so far, but hoped that the remaining issues would be resolved step-by-step.