LAHORE, March 23: The Tehrik-i-Istiqlal leadership is trying to strike an alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) in the hope that being the King’s Party the League will carry it into power corridors for the first time in its 30 years of history.

TI chief Rahmat Khan Vardag told reporters here on Saturday that he had thrice met with PML(QA) leaders. He said he hoped that they would welcome an electoral alliance with the party.

However, he said, a final decision about the proposed alliance would be taken by the party’s national council due to be held in the city next month.

Mr Vardag said that the party hoped to get about 20 assembly seats. He hastened to add that the party elders were unanimous in the opinion that they should forego any seat for which the alliance leaders thought a better candidate was available.

But, he said, in that case the party hoped to be “compensated” in the Senate polls.

He said if the TI was unable to form an alliance with the “would-be ruling party” it would prefer joining hands with the main opposition party.