Top MMA leaders to meet Nawaz Sharif in London

Islamabad, Jan 6: Top leadership of the six-party Islamicopposition grouping, Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and Nawaz Sharif'sPakistan Muslim League (PML-N) will meet this month to finaliseresponse to President Pervez Musharraf's planned decision to gethimself elected from the existing assemblies.

MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmad and secretary general of thealliance Maulana Fazlur Rehman have accepted PML-N chief and formerPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif's invitation and will meet him in London,The News reported.

It is expected that these two MMA leaders will also meet theBenazir Bhutto's PPP leadership with chances of a sitting with her also.

The prime purpose of the visit will be to finalise the agenda of the upcoming All Parties Conference (APC) in February.

Sources said the leadership of the ARD and the MMA are expected totake extreme decisions if the Opposition discovered President Musharrafwas going for his re-election from the existing assemblies.

The possible decisions include immediate en masse resignations and mass contact movement just before the elections.

However, MMA sources informed that Maulana Fazalur Rehman'spro-Taliban Jamiatul Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) was weighing its politicaloptions and discussing the future political scenario, especially thechances of 'success' and 'failure' of the party in the next generalelections.

The situation remains fluid for the formation of a grandopposition alliance as Benazir Bhutto's PPP doesn't trust the MMA asdoes the PML-N.

The PPP strongly believes the MMA, especially Maulana FazlurRehman's JUI, will never run the risk of bidding farewell to theestablishment at any cost.

However, sources in the PPP said if President Musharraf reallyopted for his re-election from the existing assemblies, and the MMA,somehow, decides to join hands with the ARD for forming the grandopposition alliance against the government, the PPP would have noobjection.

Meanwhile, the government is desperately trying to ensure theOpposition, whatever is left of it, remains divided. Under the garb ofnegotiations, it has succeeded in gluing the attention of the PPP andsome components of the MMA.

These frantic efforts are aimed at creating confusion among theOpposition's ranks for as long as possible before the next generalelections, and, of course, president's election before or after thegeneral elections, said the paper.

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