LAHORE, Dec 4: The Tehrik-i-Istiqlal, the National Workers Party and the Social and Political Workers group have finally decided to merge into a new party, the Qaumi Jamhoori Party.

This was decided at a meeting of the representatives and senior leaders of the parties and workers group held at the residence of Air Marshal Asghar Khan (retired).

Prominent among those who attended the meeting were: Asghar Khan, Ikram Nagra, Air Marshal Khurshid Anwar Mirza (retired) and Malik Hamid Sarfraz of the Tehrik-i-Istiqlal, Abid Hasan Minto, Yusaf Masti Khan, Begum Nasim Shamim Malik and Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad of the National Workers Party and Dr Zafar Mirza, Mukhtar Bacha, Karamat Ali and Dr Farzana Bari of the Workers Group.

The three parties will now nominate 12 members each for a larger assembly which will meet at Lahore on Dec 27. The assembly will approve the political documents of the new party and also determine the new structure and leadership which will take over after the formal dissolution of the parties and the establishment of the Qaumi Jamhoori Party.

The new party will be national in character and democratic in content fully supporting and striving for a broad based and fully sovereign and democratic set up in Pakistan.

Ajmal Khattak and Latif Khan Afridi of the National Awami Party Pakistan also attended the meeting. They agreed in principle to merge with the approval of the remaining leadership.