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Pak parties fail to reach consensus on govt formation

Pro- and anti-Musharraf political parties have failed in their efforts to reach a consensus on government formation in Pakistan.

But they asked the military regime to announce a schedule for transferring power to elected representatives and convening the national and provincial assemblies and vowed not to put any hurdles in the way.

In a resolution adopted at the meeting, the parties agreed to settle their differences on government formation in the National Assembly, saying it is an independent, sovereign body and they respect its supremacy.

Leaders of the government-backed Pakistan Muslim League, Quaid-e-Azam group, former premier Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of six hardline religious parties, and the pro-Musharraf National Alliance met in Islamabad on Tuesday night to thrash out their differences on Musharraf's constitutional amendments.

The PPPP and the MMA, which have reservations in accepting the amendments, have emerged among the top three parties in the country after the October 10 polls, with the PML-Q in the lead. But none of them is in a position to form a government excluding the other two.

The resolution said the parties agreed to continue negotiations on the issue and assigned PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to coordinate the talks.

The MMA in a separate meeting also decided, in principle, to opt for opposition if it failed to form the government. The alliance leaders said they would press ahead with their plan to get the speaker's slot.

PTI

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