ISLAMABAD/LAHORE, Nov 4: The formal announcement of an understanding reached between the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and components of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) has been postponed till the final approval of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto.
All the issues have been settled only a final approval from Ms Benazir was awaited, chief of the ARD Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan told reporters at his residence on Monday evening in anticipation of a formal announcement of the ARD-MMA agreement.
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan said they made several telephone calls to London for contacting Ms Benazir but nobody was attending the phone. He said she had not reached London from the United States where she had gone to see the US officials.
However, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan parried a question whether the ARD component parties were in agreement over the MMA’s prime ministerial candidate, Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
“For us it is not an important issue,” he said, adding that other issues including the efforts being made to perpetuate military rule in shape of National Security Council were of more concern for them.
Commenting on their possible cooperation with MMA, he said, there alliance with MMA would be natural as they had unanimity of views over many issues including election of president through referendum.
He recalled that they had rejected the referendum held by Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Nawabzada Nasrullah claimed that they had clear majority in the National Assembly and in the Senate election too they would get overwhelming majority.
He dispelled an impression that there were some differences among the alliance component parties.
President Pakistan Muslim League (J) Hamid Nasir Chathha also called on Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan.
Earlier in the day, PPP leaders Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Raza Rabbani and Naheed Khan held a meeting with Nawabzada. Makhdoom Amin stayed there very briefly and left for accountability court Rawalpindi where he had to see Asif Ali Zardari.
The delay in the formal announcement of ARD-MMA agreement had set rumours mills in motion and the federal capital was rife with conspiracy theories that a forward block was in the offing in PPP.
Some political observers were saying that around 20 members of PPP and 10 to 12 members of PML(N) would defect and support Pakistan Muslim League (Q).
PPP reservations: The People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) has reservations about the candidacy of Maulana Fazlur Rehman as ARD- MMA’s joint candidate for prime minister. It first wants a package deal with the two alliances on all important offices like the premier, the Senate chairman, the National Assembly speaker and the deputy speaker before making collective efforts for the formation of a new government for the Centre, PPP sources told Dawn on Monday.
The sources said that it considers unfair on the part of the MMA and parties in the ARD to first ‘impose’ Maulana Fazlur Rehman as candidate for the top office and then expect the PPP, which got highest number of votes in the elections, to lend an unconditional support to him.
“We want to go with the ARD and MMA. We also want to put up a joint candidate for prime minister. We also have tremendous regards for Maulana Fazlur Rehman. But his candidacy should not be forced upon the PPP,” the sources said.
Without saying in so many words but leaving least doubt that the party would like to see Makhdoom Amin Fahim in the Prime Minister’s House, the sources added: “We have to bring to the fore a candidate who is acceptable to all provinces. We want a liberal, democratic and tolerant government at the Centre.”
The sources indicated that instead of sitting on opposition benches the PPP would prefer to form government to be able to solve the problems of the people, give jobs to those retrenched by the present regime and above all get the country its due status in the comity of nations.
Asked how the ARD-MMA government would be able to co-exist with Gen Musharraf when parties in the two alliances did not recognize him as president nor the Legal Framework Order, the sources said the PPP wanted to break the deadlock. It wanted the new assembly to function.
The sources said at a time when the country was in the process of transition from military to civil rule, political forces would be flexible in their attitude. The regime and the parties should adopt a “give-and-take” approach to break the deadlock, they said.
They said since Gen Musharraf had held the elections according to his commitment, the army should be given an exit. In case political forces remained inflexible, the possibility of a head- on-collision with the army could not be ruled out and such a situation would be in nobody’s interest, they argued.