United Muslim League: Musharraf to pit ‘third force’ against ruling party

Coalition of leagues to contest next general elections

ISLAMABAD: Former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf plans to bring together different political parties under the banner of the United Muslim League before he contests the next general elections.

To this end, a meeting of different factions of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) was convened recently in Lahore.

Leaders of PML-Quaid, PML-Chattha, PML-Jinnah, PML-Likeminded, Muslim Conference of Azad Kashmir and All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) said they intended to merge their parties.

“We have come to the conclusion that we should merge together to form a single party,” said APML General Secretary Dr Muhammad Amjad in Islamabad, following the meeting.

Read: A divided house: Musharraf to try uniting Leagues

The party leaders had got together to discuss how they should address some of the major problems of the country.

They agreed that the issues of economic downslide, poor law and order, bad governance and corruption need to be resolved to ensure a better future for Pakistanis.



“If the parties are merged, they can represent the entire group which we call the ‘third force’,” said Amjad, adding that the PML factions should not be divided, and that the united party would be more effective under Musharraf’s leadership.

“The parties can approach the public, reorganise the entire set-up and contest the next elections as one party.”

The APML leader claimed that the current government has failed to deliver and that the present political system is being controlled, supported and managed mainly by the defence forces.

“The ruling PML-Nawaz has failed to maintain law and order in the country and has enlisted the help of the armed forces. We think a bigger ‘third force’ should come forward against the Pakistan Peoples Party and the PML-N.”

Amjad said the coalition parties were in the process of formulating a declaration that would highlight the united party’s motto and plans for the country.

He said the ‘third force’ would focus on development projects in the health and education sectors that benefit people at the grassroots level, instead of investing in small, costly projects.

Another meeting of the party leaders and members will be held at the end of this month to finalise the merger, probably by September 28. The PML-Functional, which was not present in the last meeting, is expected to join the next one.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd,   2015.