ISLAMABAD, March 1: The Pakistan Muslim League-Q on Saturday nominated former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as its parliamentary leader in the National Assembly and Hamid Nasir Chattha in the Punjab Assembly.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s Central Executive Committee presided over by PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. It was also attended by some newly-elected lawmakers.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Shujaat said the opposition’s coalition parliamentary group would play a positive role in the assemblies.Answering a question, he said it was up to the MQM to decide whether it wanted to sit in the opposition led by the PML-Q or join the coalition government.

He said that President Pervez Musharraf had been elected for five years and the PML-Q wanted him to complete his tenure.

PML-Q secretary-general Mushahid Hussain Sayed said the party had decided to form its government in Balochistan.

He said the party had formed a parliamentary coordination committee and a policy committee which would be overseeing political issues of the party.

The meeting decided to convene a meeting of the MNAs-elect of former coalition parliamentary groups on Tuesday to discuss a possible alliance for a combined opposition in the National Assembly, Senate and provincial assemblies.

Insiders said that while a few participants had supported the party line, a majority was critical of the party’s blind support for President Musharraf’s policies which they believed had caused the defeat in the polls.

Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari, Wasim Sajjad, Justice (retd) Azam Khan, former Balochistan chief minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf, Ghaus Bakhsh Mehr and Yar Mohammad Rind did not attend the meeting.

Three MNAs-elect — Sumaira Malik, Riaz Fatiana and Riaz Pirzada — and Senator Razina Alam attended the meeting on special invitation.

Hamid Nasir Chattha, who lost his NA seat but won a provincial assembly seat, left the meeting in the middle to meet PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.