MMA leaders hold late-night meeting

The top leaders belonging to Pakistan's main religious alliance were meeting in the port city of Karachi late last night to finalise a decision on whether to form a coalition government with the pro-government alliance after their negotiations with former premier Benazir Bhutto's party fell apart, a senior leader said.

"The Pakistan People's Party has deceived us," Munawwar Hasan, secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a key group of the six-party Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, told Gulf News.

"The PPP kept us waiting for seven days, but its leadership didn't announce decision on an alliance with the MMA," he said by telephone from Lahore.

The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, of which the PPP is the main component party, was holding talks with the MMA in an attempt to form a coalition government in recent weeks.

Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, the ARD leader whose tiny Pakistan Democratic Party has no seat in parliament, issued repeated statements that an understanding has been reached between the two main anti-government alliances.

But the PPP had been dragging its feet in making a formal announcement of its alliance with the MMA, which comprises hardline pro-Afghan Taliban groups.

Bhutto and several senior PPP leaders remained uncomfortable on the prospects of an alliance with the MMA which bitterly oppose its liberal and moderate policies.

Hasan said that the PPP is more interested in getting Bhutto's jailed husband, Asif Ali Zardari, freed and withdrawal of corruption cases against its top leaders, including the former premier.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, another important member of the MMA, however, was interested in making a deal with the PPP, MMA sources said.

But Bhutto's recent anti-MMA statements ended the chances of joining hands between the two forces.

Hasan said that the PPP remains "insincere" about the key issues, including restoring the supremacy of the parliament and opposing the controversial constitutional amendments made by President Pervez Musharraf.

But the PPP rejected MMA's allegations.

Nafees Siddiqui, a senior PPP leader, said that being an ARD member, the party was in talks with the MMA, but it never made any commitment regarding supporting its candidate, Fazlur Rehman, for the premiership.

"The PPP has a commitment to the people and demanding justice for those who are languishing in prison without any conviction is in line with the party manifesto. For our principles we are ready to sit on the opposition benches."

"Zardari is a prisoner of conscience. He is being kept in prison unlawfully," he said.

The pro-government Pakistan Muslim League Qauid-e-Azam (PML-QA) has emerged as the largest group in October 10 elections with 103 seats in the 342-member parliament.

The PPP with 81 seats stands second and the MMA with more than 50 seats emerged as the third largest group. But no political alliance or party is in a position to form a government on its own.

So far politicians have failed to work out a formula for the power-sharing and develop consensus on key issues more than a month after the elections delaying the holding of the National Assembly's inaugural session.

But sources in the MMA said that they finally expect the deadlock to be over soon. The PML-QA and other parties in the pro-government Grand National Alliance have reached a consensus with the MMA regarding the formation of the government, they said.

Hasan, however, said that the decision is not yet final.

"In today's meeting, which is likely very late in the night, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rehman will take the alliance leaders into confidence about their talks with the government as well as the GNA leaders," he said.

The meeting is being held at the residence of Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani, the MMA chief who heads his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan.

All the central MMA leaders are expected to arrive Karachi from Islamabad later in the evening and will go straight to the meeting, which starts at around 10pm, Hasan said.

"We will review all the developments about the formation of the coalition government," he said.

"There are indications of some flexibility within the government regarding the constitutional amendments, including limiting president's power to dismiss the elected government and the parliament."

Hasan said the Jamaat-e-Islami has called a meeting of its central leaders in Lahore tomorrow to discuss the outcome of today's MMA meeting in Karachi.

GNA and the MMA sources, however, have confirmed a deal between the two forces under which the prime minister would be a nominee of the PML-QA.

The PML-QA is likely to drop the name of Zafarullah Jamali for the top slot and appoint some other leader for the joint candidate of the premiership, they said.

A section of the PPP parliamentarians is also likely to join the coalition government ending the month-long deadlock, they added.