LAHORE, April 17: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal will contest the October election on a manifesto focusing on the Nizam-i-Mustafa. Its leaders believe that the slogan can still attract the masses.

They believe that the alliance can win more than 60 National Assembly seats. To argue for its effectiveness, they refer to the 1977 Pakistan National Alliance campaign.

The MMA manifesto, as well as its constitution, was approved by heads of the component parties at their meeting held in Islamabad on April 2. It has since been referred to central executive committees of the parties for their feedback before it is made public.

The Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan has objected to the proposal that the MMA chairmanship should be held by rotation by the component parties for six months at a time, JUP vice-president Lt-Gen KM Azhar (retired) revealed. It has proposed instead that the MMA supreme council, having three representatives from each of the component parties, should be authorized to elect all office-bearers.

About allocation of tickets, Gen Azhar said it had been decided in principle that the matter would be decided before the announcement of election schedule.

The parliamentary board will be set up after the approval of the MMA constitution and manifesto in a meeting of party heads likely to be held in the first week of May.

He said a party’s influence in a constituency would be kept in mind while allocating tickets. Local adjustments with other parties are likely to be allowed in view of the insistence of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and the Jamaat-i-Islami.

The JUP, Gen Azhar said, wanted to field most of its candidates in southern Punjab districts of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rahim Yar Khan besides Mianwali, Sialkot and Narowal.

The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, he said, was interested in striking an alliance with the JUP in Mianwali to secure a National Assembly seat for its chairman, Imran Khan.

Gen Azhar believes that the reduction in the size of constituencies would benefit the MMA parties.

He said it would also lessen the expenses needed to be borne by a candidate.