LAHORE, July 29: Nawaz League acting president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi said on Monday either Begum Kulsoom Nawaz or Shahbaz Sharif could be made the party president.

Talking to newsmen after the conclusion of a corruption reference proceedings against him before an accountability court, Mr Hashmi said he had been holding the responsibility of party leadership on the orders of Mian Nawaz Sharif who could nominate either of the two as party leader.

However, he made it clear that Raja Zafarul Haq would remain the party chairman.

He alleged that the PML(QA) elections were merely a selection made to the will of President Gen Musharraf, who according to him, was the party ‘patron.’

He alleged that the elections of political parties was a ploy of the government to eliminate their leadership, especially that of the PPP and the PML(N).

“The government should realize that political parties cannot be eliminated despite such elections,” warned Mr Hashmi.

He maintained that both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto still have grip on the party affairs despite being outside the country.

He claimed that upcoming elections would be a contest between “democracy and dictatorship.”