LAHORE: A ‘decisive meeting’ of the PPP and PML-Q leadership is going to take place on Tuesday (today) to resolve the issues related to ‘disputed seats’.
Both parties may opt for their course in case they fail to resolve ‘seven’ disputed National Assembly seats.“Tuesday’s meeting between the PML-Q and PPP leadership (in Islamabad) will be the final one. Let’s see if it could sort out the matter related to disputed seats,” PML-Q central information secretary Senator Kamil Ali Agha told Dawn.Sources say the alliance between the two former coalition partners is still under clouds as the PPP has fielded its candidates against seven NA seats it had already conceded to the PML-Q.
The PPP candidates have filed nomination papers against PML-Q’s Talib Nakai (NA-142), Asif Nakai (NA-141), Khurram Manj (NA-134), Hamid Hiraj (NA-157), Raza Hiraj (NA-156), Amina Dhalon (NA-131) and Chaudhry Maqsood (NA-144). The PPP has also fielded candidates on Punjab Assembly seats against Chaudhry Moonis Elahi (PP-110) and Amir Kalal (PP-261) despite having a seat-adjustment agreement with the Q.The sources say in the earlier seat-adjustment meetings the PPP had agreed not to field candidates against potential Q players. “In such a scenario how will the PPP-Q go into May 11 elections together? asked a senior PML-Q leader.
Interestingly, the PML-Q leadership is not going to press President Asif Ali Zardari to withdraw former water and power minister Ahmed Mukhtar in favour of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. “We want Ahmed Mukhtar contest against the former deputy prime minister as it will rather help him (Pervaiz Elahi) win from NA-105, Gujrat,” a senior PML-Q leader said.The relations between the two former coalition partners turned sour last month after the PPP leadership allegedly lured PML-Q’s former minister Sardar Bahadur Sehar from Layyah and also offered its half-a-dozen stalwarts to contest the elections on its (PPP) tickets.
The seat-adjustment talks between them were suspended following Mr Sehar’s episode. On the intervention of President Zardari, both parties were back on table to sort out their differences. However, anti-alliance groups in both sides have still been pressing their leadership to part ways.The anti-PPP group in the PML-Q is of the view that the PPP workers and sympathizers will not vote for the PML-Q and at the end of the day practically both parties will have to contest on their own. – Dawn
