Seat adjustment : Talks between PML-N, JUI-F achieve little headway

Both parties have been giving contradictory signals about the outcome of the ongoing talks.

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) ongoing negotiations on seat adjustment in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have achieved little so far.

On Monday, leaders from both parties met at the residence of PML-N leader Khawaja Mohammad Khan Hoti, in the second meeting between both parties in less than a week. PML-N was represented by Khawaja Hoti, Farid Toofan and general secretary Rehmat Salam Khattak, while the JUI-F team comprised Maulana Attaur Rehman, Shamsur Rehman Shamsi and Mufti Abdul Shakoor. However, the participants failed to reach an agreement.

The leaders were scheduled to meet again on Tuesday night, but the meeting was cancelled due to other engagements of both parties’ leaders.

The PML-N and JUI-F have been giving contradictory signals about the outcome of the ongoing talks. While PML-N leaders are painting a bleak picture of the negotiations, terming the JUI-F as over demanding, a JUI-F negotiator on the other hand claimed the talks were heading in a positive direction.



Mufti Abdul Shakoor, a JUI-F negotiator seemed hopeful about the outcome of talks with the PML-N. He claimed both parties had made headway towards adjustments and were discussing constituencies. “We have agreed for maximum cooperation and hopefully will achieve that, despite difficulties,” he stated.

A PML-N member, however, told The Express Tribune no significant progress had been made on the matter of seat adjustment. “They (the JUI-F) are making a lot of heavy demands which are quite difficult to accept,” he said while requesting anonymity.

Another point of contention between the parties is the JUI-F’s refusal to accommodate nominees who have recently joined the PML-N. “They say they will retain most of the seats they won in the last elections as well as seats they lost with a small margin. We have no problem with that; however, what we want them to take into account are those people who have recently joined the PML-N.”

Two of the heavyweights who have joined PML-N over the past few months are former Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid provincial president, Amir Muqam and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Khawaja Mohammad Khan Hoti.

Interestingly, a few days back, JUI-F’s district chapter in Shangla, which is Muqam’s hometown, issued a statement saying they will not accept any kind of adjustment with PML-N at district level.

The district chapter also demanded the provincial chapter to exempt Shangla from the framework of seat adjustment with the PML-N, blaming Muqam for being a part of the Lal Masjid attack of 2007. This was quite unheard of in the case of the JUI-F, where such issues are specifically left to the prerogative of the provincial chapter.

Initially, Khawaja Hoti, after parting ways with the PTI, had entered into lengthy talks with the JUI-F. The party leaders had even announced that he was joining them, but Hoti joined the PML-N.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2013.