ISLAMABAD, June 30: Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed accused the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) on Wednesday for practising 'double standards' by not keeping the promises the alliance had made.

At the same time, he also conceded that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain's administration was seized with a proposal, offered by the MMA, to develop a national consensus.

"The proposal is under the consideration of the government but since they have already betrayed us, I am not in a position to comment about this any further," he told reporters during a press conference here at the PID auditorium.

Mr Rashid was flanked by prime minister-in-waiting Shaukat Aziz and Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim. The packed to capacity hall burst into laughter when he announced that he was still the chief spokesman of the government.

In a hard-hitting pitch soon after his oath to continue as the information minister, he targeted the People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) by accusing that some gloomsters in the party were bent upon creating despondency in the country but today, he said, they must be disappointed on the first-ever peaceful transfer of power from one prime minister to another "in a true democratic spirit".

"Developing consensus among the members is the real democracy," he said. Mr Rashid said Prime Minister Shujaat would soon announce one or two constituencies from where Mr Aziz would contest election and added that 12 members of the National Assembly had offered to vacate their seats in favour of Mr Aziz.

"We are cent per cent sure that the people of Pakistan would vote in favour of Mr Aziz from whichever constituency he contests from because victory is already on our side," he said in a confident tone.

To a question about the fate of Leader of the Opposition Maulana Fazlur Rehman, he said the government had not yet considered the issue but repeated that the MMA had betrayed "us by defying the understanding earlier reached with the government".

He paid glowing tributes to former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali to whom he called a 'visionary' as he had sacrificed his "today for our tomorrow" by showing foresightedness to save the system from collapse. This sacrifice would go in the annuls of the country's history in golden words, he said.

The information minister further said that the portfolios of federal ministers as well as ministers of state would remain same in the new cabinet of Mr Shujaat except for the two new additions, and added that Rao Sikander would be the senior minister in the new cabinet.

Meanwhile, Sindh chief minister brushed aside the impression that he had developed some friction with Sindh Governor Isharatul Ibad, and clarified that no workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had been released after his assuming the reign of power in the province. He further explained that he had come to meet Mr Aziz in his office during which the issue concerning the Kalabagh dam never came into discussion.