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Pakistan

Salim Saifullah to meet Nawaz

Dunya News

Like-Minded group chief Senator Salim Saifullah would have a meeting with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.

Both the leaders would prepare strategy to form an alliance for next election.Anyhow, Salim Saifullah has declined to verify the meeting. Before this, both the leaders have met in different platforms to discuss further planning and unification of both parties. According to a source in the PML-N, Salim Saifullah Khan stressed the need for unification of all factions of the PML and asked Mr Sharif to play a role in this regard. He told Mr Sharif that the time had come to unite all factions of the party to give a tough time to the Pakistan Peoples Party.Mr Sharif, the source said, agreed with Mr Khans viewpoint, but asked him to wait for an appropriate time for the move.Mr Sharif told the dissidents that since the Constitution did not allow them to join another party, it was better to continue cooperation while remaining in their present positions.For the time being, the two sides agreed to constitute a four-member committee to increase coordination and to prepare a joint strategy for parliament sessions, the source added.The PML-Q dissidents have been supporting PML-Ns Ishaq Dar as a candidate for leader of the opposition in the Senate and boycotting the budget session for the past one week to protest against the decision of Senate chairman Farooq H. Naek to appoint JUI-F secretary general Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri as the opposition leader.The opposition group, headed by Mr Dar, is now considering challenging the Senate chairmans decision before the Supreme Court.The PML-N source said the PML-Q dissidents move to sit on opposition benches despite the Chaudhrys decision to join hands with President Asif Ali Zardari had created a soft corner in the heart of Mr Sharif for them as they had proved their intentions.PML-Ns Raja Zafarul Haq told Dawn that as the meeting had taken place on the request of the Q dissidents, it had no formal agenda. He, however, said the two sides had agreed to cooperate with each other in future on all political matters.Mr Sharif said that he had already presented a charter of Pakistan aimed at making the country a democratic and a welfare state in a true sense. He said if the democratic process was allowed to function, the country would have been in a better condition today. He said dictatorships had promoted politics of sectarianism and factionalism.
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