Abida and Fakhar to join Benazir's party

Lahore: The political couple from Jhang - Syeda Abida Hussain and Syed Fakhar Imam - has finally decided to join the Benazir-led Pakistan People's Party.

According to some well-placed PPP insiders, the couple is expected to make a formal announcement in this regard shortly.

They have had several meetings with party chairperson Benazir Bhutto in London and modalities of joining the party had been finalised there.

The PPP insiders said that their party leadership is keen to ensure the entry of Abida and Fakhar into the PPP fold to counter the party turncoat from Jhang - Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, who defected from the PPP after the 2002 general elections and joined the Cabinet as a federal minister.

Abida Hussain started her political career from the PPP and was nominated a member of the Punjab Assembly by the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto against a seat reserved for women.

But she parted ways with the PPP in 1979 when she became chairperson of the District Council Jhang.

Re-elected

She was re-elected to the office in 1983 and 1985 elections and returned to National Assembly from two constituencies and later became a part of the Junejo-led Pakistan Muslim League.

Abida Hussain is considered one of the four founder members of the ruling PML-Q and was a staunch supporter of President General Pervez Musharraf.

Abida Hussain and Fakhar Imam had supported President Musharraf in the 2002 presidential referendum enabling him to hold the office of the president.