ISLAMABAD, Nov 12: The GNA, a conglomerate of the PML-Q and six-party National Alliance, and the MMA have come close to an agreement on the LFO, the status of the president and the NSC, and they can form a coalition government in the next couple of days, informed sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

A draft agreement reached at between the two sides at their meeting on Monday night and duly vetted after some changes by the law ministry, would now be discussed by the MMA and the GNA at separate meetings after which it is expected to be signed by the leaders of the two alliances, sources claimed.

The two sides, the sources said, inched towards the agreement after MMA vice-president Qazi Hussain Ahmed had held talks with President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday.

In the wake of the development, the military regime is considering summoning the National Assembly session within the current week.

As a result of this agreement, the MMA will withdraw its candidate for premiership and will receive the speaker’s slot in the National Assembly besides sharing power in the NWFP, Balochistan and Sindh.

Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, the deputy secretary-general of the MMA, told Dawn that the four-member joint committee of the two alliances had carried out an indepth study of the draft proposals on the LFO and other issues before finalizing its recommendations.

The committee, comprising Liaquat Baloch, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Chaudhry Amir Hussain and Arbab Ghulam Rahim, was set up on Saturday.

Hafiz said a copy of the said draft was handed over to PML-Q parliamentary leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who has reportedly discussed it with the army rulers and the law ministry.

Sources in the two alliances said they were too optimistic, especially after Qazi’s meeting with President Musharraf on Monday, that both sides could co-exist while keeping their respective stands intact.

Sources claimed that Chaudhry Shujaat visited the law ministry on Tuesday and discussed various suggestions with the concerned officials at length. Consequently, sources said, the law ministry had started working out concessions that the government would offer to the MMA.