LAHORE, Aug 23: MMA leader Liaquat Baloch said on Monday that the religious alliance could extend support to the PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim as prime ministerial candidate against Mr Shaukat Aziz provided the PPP stopped following what he called the pro-government policies.

However, he said in the present circumstances acting PML-N president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi was the most suitable candidate who could bring the ARD and the MMA closer to each other and also give a good fight to the prime minister-designate.

The PML-N decided on Monday to insist on the candidature of Mr Hashmi, while ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim said the 16-party alliance would take a decision on the issue after the schedule for the prime minister's election is announced.

"It's the ARD versus the MMA, not the PPP versus the PML-N", the ARD chairman said. PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq said that his party and the PPP leadership could hold talks on the subject on Tuesday (today).

Asked why the MMA insisted on the nomination of Mr Hashmi as prime ministerial candidate, mr Baloch said "because the PPP is supporting the government". The PPP, he alleged, supported secular policies of the government, raids on seminaries, demands for the repeal of Hudood and Blasphemy laws, changes to the curricula and the government policy on Afghanistan. All these things, he said, were not acceptable to the MMA.

But as the religious wanted to keep the opposition parties together, it recently proposed that the ARD and the MMA should put up joint candidates in Attock and Tharparkar constituencies.

This was a gesture to keep the opposition united, he said. But, he regretted, that the PPP did not come up with a positive response because of which both seats went to the ruling party.

Mr Baloch said Javed Hashmi belonged to the ARD, not the MMA, and thus if the ARD adopted him as its candidate, it would be serving its own cause. It would be an additional benefit of its decision that the MMA and the ARD would get closer, he said.

He said the MMA had already taken a principled decision to boycott the election of the new prime minister. But it would review the same if the ARD puts up Makhdoom Javed Hashmi as its candidate. Mr Baloch said the MMA would stay away from the process if somebody else was selected as challenger to the prime minister-designate.