Bhutto turns down Sharif's Multi-Parties Conference

Islamabad, Mar 2 (UNI) Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairperson and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has refused to attend the Multi-Parties Conference (MPC) to be held in London on March 24 by Pakistan Muslim League (N) chief Nawaz Sharif.

Ms Bhutto, conveying her decision to the PML, said she would send her party delegation for representation.

Ms Bhutto's refusal to attend Sharif's MPC came in the backdrop of reports about a deal between the PPP and Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf on future political disposition with particular reference to the party's share in the government after upcoming parliamentary elections, due this year.

''Both the parties have attributed Bhutto's refusal to attend the MPC to a mutual understanding though the sources described it a sign of visible differences between the two former arch rivals,'' The Nation said today.

The two-day MPC, to be attended by the opposition parties and hosted by PML-N, is scheduled to take place in London on March 24 on the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) platform.

According to sources in the ARD of which both the PPP and PML(N) are members, Ms Benazir Bhutto had refused to attend the MPC under the pretext that neither she was taken into confidence before announcing the MPC dates nor her proposal to hold the conference on the occasion of President Pervez Musharraf's re-election was accommodated.

PPP Acting President Makhdoom Amin Fahim had a detailed meeting with Ms Bhutto in Dubai and returned with an announcement that Ms Bhutto would send a delegation to represent her party in the MPC.

When asked about the reasons behind Ms Benazir's avoidance to attend the MPC, Mr Fahim, who is also ARD Chairman said, ''I can't recount the reasons''.

''Ms Benazir Bhutto will be in America on the days the MPC is to be called in London,'' the PPP sources said. They also said she has some engagements in the US.

The PPP delegation would represent Benazir in the MPC, therefore her absence does not matter, PML-N Secretary General Zafar Iqbal Jhagra said, adding, ''The PPP is fully on board in the decisions to be taken on the MPC platform''.

The PPP delegation would comprise Mr Amin Fahim, opposition leader in the Senate Mr Raza Rabbani, Shah Mehmood Qurashi, Mr Yousaf Raza Gillani, Mr Safdar Abbasi and some other key members of the party.

The MPC will take up a six-point agenda, which includes neutral caretaker setup without President Pervez Musharraf, restoration of 1973 Constitution, supremacy of parliament, free, fair and transparent elections, and independent Election Commission.

Mr Jhagra further said a joint meeting of the Parliamentary Party and Central Working Committee of the PML-N would meet in Islamabad on March 6 to take up the current political situation.

UNI