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PML downplays importance of London meeting(Gulf News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Islamabad: Pakistan's ruling party yesterday downplayed the London meeting between the two former prime ministers and vowed it would outvote all rivals in the next general election. Information Minister Shaikh Rasid Ahmad told reporters the meeting between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif was nothing more than the proverbial "storm in a tea cup." He said that even if Benazir and Nawaz agreed on an electoral alliance between their parties, the voters of Muslim League-N would never support candidates from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The minister referred to the bitter rivalry in the past between the two politicians and pointed out that all corruption cases pending against Bhutto had been initiated when Nawaz Sharif was in power. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Pakistan Muslim League (PML) president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain met to discuss the political scenario and issues related to the next national budget. According to an official report they emphasised that the PML was capable of facing any political challenge. Shujaat Hussain said that PML reorganisation and its enrolment drive were progressing satisfactorily. On the other hand, a PPP delegation met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Qazi Mommbad Farooq to discuss the party's concerns regarding the next elections. The Delegation told the media they impressed upon the CEC that participation of the two mainstream political leaders in the elections was a prerequisite for holding free and fair elections. They also conveyed the opposition apprehensions about the use of state machinery and funds in electioneering by the ruling setup and demanded effective checks by the commission. Sources said the CEC reiterated his commitment to holding fair, free and transparent elections and said that proposals made by the PPP delegation would be examined in the light of the constitutional provisions. According to the sources Farooq however told the delegation that bringing Bhutto and Sharif back to Pakistan was an issue outside his jurisdiction. In a statement the PPP's central Information Secretary Sherry Rehman said that the government was "scared" of the unification of democratic forces on the platform of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy. |