LAHORE, Nov 24: Punjab PPP President Qasim Zia was appointed as party’s parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly here on Sunday.

His nomination was announced by PPP Parliamentarian President Makhdoom Amin Fahim after a meeting of the party’s provincial parliamentary party here.

He announced that the nomination of party candidates for speaker and deputy speaker had been deferred because of the efforts to create a joint PPP-PML(N) opposition.

Mr.Fahim was accompanied by Mr.Zia, PPP information secretary Naveed Chaudhry and Media Adviser Iqbal Sialvi. He said the PPP parliamentary party would again meet before the first session of the Punjab Assembly on Monday morning.

Qasim Zia said nominations for speaker and deputy speaker would be made before the filing of nomination papers for the two seats. “We will contest elections to all the seats,” he said.

He said the PPP would meet the like-minded parties before the session on Monday.

“We would announce the decisions to be taken in this meeting after approval by our own parliamentary party,” he said.

Qasim Zia said the PPP was negotiating with the PML-N, hoping that both the parties would field a consensus candidates to all the seats in the assembly.

Earlier, while replying to questions Makhdoom Amin Fahim said the decision to remove president or not would be taken by parliament.

He said as a result of the struggle by the PPP, democracy had been wriggled out of the military government. Now, it should be realized that one phase of the restoration of democracy had been completed without pondering on what would happen next. Now it was the duty of political forces to strengthen the democracy.

Replying to a question whether the PPP would again negotiate with the president, he said now the democratic forces would talk to each other.

When asked about the formation of a new party by the PPP forward bloc in the National Assembly, he said another feather had been added to their cap. He said the PPP had written a letter to Faisal Saleh Hayat and Rao Sikandar Iqbal to vote for the party candidates. They would be asked whether they had followed the instructions or not, he said. He said he did know whether another PPP forward bloc was being created in the Punjab Assembly or not. He said how the members of the political parties were pressured by the government machinery and agencies before, during and after the general elections was known to everybody. The creation of the PPP forward bloc and another party was also connected to this, he said.

Makhdoom Amin said the PPP would also consult the like-minded political forces for the formulation of government in Sindh. He said only future would tell about the creation of a joint opposition in the National Assembly.

Replying to a question, he said the ARD still existed and its president Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan had resigned in protest. He was made to withdraw his decision by different PPP leaders.

Meanwhile, party sources said many participants in the meeting objected to the party’s decision to sit in the opposition and to nominate Mr.Qasim Zia as parliamentary leader.

PML-Q: A parliamentary party meeting of the PML-Q on Sunday nominated Muhammad Afzal Sahi as speaker and Sardar Shaukat Mazari as deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly.

The meeting held with Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the chair and attended by MPAs of the National Alliance, the PML (Jinnah), the PML (Junejo) besides three PPP MPAs —- Walayat Shah Khagha, Muhammad Arshad and Amir Usman —- and PML-N MPA Talib Husain.

The meeting was briefed about the procedure for elections of speaker and deputy speaker and was told that the PML-Q and allied parties would easily form government in the province as they enjoyed the support of 227 members in the assembly.

Chaudhry Pervaiz assured the participants that unlike the past rulers he would consult a parliamentary party on each and every important occasion.

MMA MEETING: A meeting of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal’s parliamentary party in the Punjab Assembly discussed various matters regarding its role in the formation of government in the province.

The MMA has 11 members in the provincial assembly.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, Punjab MMA president Hafiz Muhammad Idrees said that their comparatively small parliamentary group would do its best to represent the masses in the house. He said final decision on fielding candidates for the offices of chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker would be taken after consulting other parties.

However, he said the MMA had decided to sit in the opposition in any case.

Referring to increase in power tariff, he said had the assembly been in session, they would have immediately moved an adjournment motion on the issue.

He said talks were being held with the PML-N on launching joint candidates in the by-polls.