LAHORE, Nov 17: Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat, head of the PPP dissident group, insists that a government of national consensus alone can put the country on the democratic track and for this purpose parties of all shades of opinion should join hands.

Talking to reporters, he said, he had decided to cooperate with the PML-Q in the larger national interest. “It is wrong to assume that we have adopted a pro-regime course of action to save ourselves from the National Accountability Bureau.” The MNA from Jhang argued that leaders scared of cases against them were sitting abroad. He claimed that his group would soon grow in strength as more MNAs would join it in the coming days. Answering a question, he said it was wrong to suggest that he had deviated from the party policy. In fact, he said, the party had no policy at all. He recalled that Makhdoom Amin Faheem himself had been stressing the need for a government of national consensus in which all major parties had representation. This idea, he said, Mr Faheem had also discussed with the ARD president. Subsequently, he said, Mr Faheem changed his political course, again claiming that he was doing so with mandate from Ms Benazir Bhutto. Faisal Saleh Hayat said he was among the most senior leaders and no body could even think of expelling him from the party.