ISLAMABAD, June 30: Former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has offered Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz to contest the election for the National Assembly from his constituency in Balochistan, sources told Dawn.

Mr Jamali made this offer during the parliamentary party meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and coalition parties before the start of the National Assembly session at the Parliament House here on Wednesday.

Speaking to MNAs and senators of the ruling coalition, Mr Jamali said he was ready to vacate his seat for Shaukat Aziz and he (Mr Aziz) should consider his offer seriously.

Mr Jamali was elected to the National Assembly from NA-266 Nasirabad constituency in the October 2002 elections. The sources said Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain himself turned down the offer of Mr Jamali, saying the party needed his guidance.

"You are a seasoned politician and I and the PML need your guidance. We want to keep you with us in the National Assembly," the sources quoted Chaudhry Shujaat as saying to Mr Jamali.