LAHORE, Nov 18: Infighting in the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) is restricting the six-party religious alliance from striking any deal with the two other major players in the power game — the PML-Q and the PPP.

According to sources in the MMA, a formal agreement between the MMA and the PML-Q was likely to be inked during a clandestine meeting of the leaders of the two parties in Islamabad on Sunday night. But the effort bore not fruit as MMA-hopeful for prime minister’s slot Maulana Fazlur Rahman, president of the JUI-F, refused to withdraw from the race for the top slot.

The sources say that the Jamaat-i-Islami, the second major component in the MMA, and the PML-Q had finalized details of their cooperation in government formation a week ago. Under the deal, the PM’s office was to go to the PML-Q, while Maulana Fazl was to be made deputy prime minister, Liaquat Baloch National Assembly speaker, and a National Alliance nominee deputy speaker.

This deal could not also be materialized due to Maulana Fazl. He was also supported by MMA president Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani in the subsequent summit meeting held in Karachi.

Fazl also re-established contacts with the PPP and met its leaders in Hyderabad on the occasion of the funeral of Asif Zardari’s mother. The contacts had earlier been severed due to statements of its chairperson Benazir Bhutto against the religious forces in a bid to win the US support for at least her safe return to Pakistan and release of her jailed spouse Asif Zardari.

Delay by the party in announcing its support for Fazl as a joint candidate of the ARD and the MMA for prime minister’s lot was another irking factor.

The sources claim that the JUI-F chief was flexible in his stance but deputy secretary-general Hafiz Husain Ahmad did not let him do so and he with the help of other leaders forced him to continue to be a candidate for the top slot.

The Hafiz had also walked out of the MMA’s supreme council meeting which nominated Qazi Husain Ahmad as its parliamentary leader in the house while Maulana Fazl was still a hopeful for prime minister’s slot.

The sources say Qazi Husain had argued in the meeting that the NWFP chief minister would be from the JI if the JUI-F was determined to take prime minister’s slot. But the latter rejected this claim as well as the objection that Akram Durrani, the man nominated as CM by the MMA, was also beardless.

Interestingly, Maulana Samiul Haq, whose party —- the JUI-S —- has only four members in the National Assembly, is insisting that the MMA should go with the PML-Q only. He stayed away from at least two summit meetings of the MMA to show his anger over alliance’s efforts to strike a deal with the PPP.

President of Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith, sixth constituent of the MMA, Prof.Sajid Mir wants that the religious forces should side with the ARD at all costs instead of going with the pro-Musharraf parties.

The Jamaat-i-Islami is craving to see the next NA speaker from its ranks while Maulana Fazl is of the opinion that the speaker’s slot can be forsaken in a give-and-take deal with the PPP or the PML-Q in return for their votes for him.

Now the JI is taking a tough stand on the Legal Framework Order (LFO) as the JUI-F is not ready to allow Liaquat Baloch to become speaker through a deal with the PML-Q.