Sharif offers to ease Imran in National Assembly

Lahore, Dec 11: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief, Nawaz Sharif, has offered to accommodate former cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan in the National Assembly and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) office bearers in the Punjab Assembly in by-elections, sources have said.

Sources said that Sharif has decided to favour the PTI, keeping in view the latter"s political struggle against the Musharraf regime.

The PML-N has chalked out its election strategy with which it plans to combat rival political parties in the upcoming elections without the support of religious forces and regional political parties, they added.

Sharif made it clear to Qazi Hussain Ahmad of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the JUI-F that his party could not join hands with them in the upcoming general elections.

He said that this was due to their disappointing performance and support to the government, sources said.

Sharif was of the view that in their previous tenure the religio-political parties, despite enjoying reasonable strength in the NA and the majority in two provincial assemblies had badly hurt the sentiments of the people by supporting the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.

Sources said that the Sharif brothers in the first meeting convened at their Model Town residence on November 29 told APDM parties" leaders that the PML-N would neither evade contesting the polls nor was it ready to take part in them from the APDM"s platform.

However, after the elections the APDM legislators could unite again in the NA, sources quoted Sharifs", as saying.

They said that before the next APDM meeting on December 9, JI leaders held a separate meeting with Nawaz at his Raiwind residence and requested seat-to-seat adjustment with the JI in Punjab.

The JI demanded 20 NA seats from Punjab, but Sharif said that he was ready to make the adjustment if the MMA ensured the PML-N 20 seats in the NWFP Assembly, they added.

After Sharif"s refusal to ally with religious forces and regional parties, some political leaders have threatened to launch an anti-Nawaz movement. Nawaz, however, has remained unmoved and announced that his party would participate in the polls, the Daily Times quoted sources, as saying.

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