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ISLAMABAD, Oct 4: Pakistan Muslim League-N Chairman Raja Mohammad Zafarul Haq has said the possibility of cooperation with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) in future on the issue of uniform cannot be completely ruled out.
Speaking at a news conference at the residence of Kulsoom Nawaz here on Monday, the PML-N chairman said perhaps it would be difficult for the MMA leadership to tender a public apology, but they should at least realize that supporting the government in the passage of the 17th Amendment Bill was a mistake.
Mr Haq said it was the MMA which had made Gen Musharraf a powerful president. He said Gen Musharraf and all the governors got powers to dissolve assemblies only because of the 17th Amendment. Similarly, he said, it was because of the 17th Amendment that Gen Musharraf acquired powers to appoint and remove services chiefs.
He said the entire 17th Amendment was controversial and if today the opposition parties would talk only about the uniform issue, then it would be narrow mindedness.
He said a meeting of all opposition parties, excluding the MMA, would be held in Lahore on October 11 to review the current political situation and to chalk out future strategy. He said only those parties had been invited which opposed the 17th Amendment.
Earlier, Information Secretary of the Awami Qayadat Party (AQP) Mohammad Mehdi and Tariq Mehmood Gill, the media adviser to AQP chief Gen (retired) Mirza Aslam Beg, announced to join the PML-N.
Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad Mehdi said they were joining the PML-N because they believed that the policies of the party were consistent from day one and it had not accepted Gen Musharraf as president of the country.
He expressed his confidence in the leadership of PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif and vowed to continue struggle for restoration of democracy and parliament's sovereignty.
Mr Haq welcomed the decision of Mr Mehdi and Mr Gill of joining the PML-N and that too at a difficult time. He said they had joined the party when it was in the opposition and was struggling for restoration of democracy in the country. This shows that they have joined the party without any greed, he added.
