Fazl’s dinner sets off rumour mills

Fazl's meeting with political leaders gives fodder to murmurs of the formation of a 'grand political alliance'.

ISLAMABAD:

Giving fodder to murmurs of the formation of a ‘grand political alliance’ that will seek snap polls, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), brought together the top leaders of different political parties to the table on Friday at his residence.

Usually at each other’s throats in public, the leaders included, Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Chaudhry Shujaat the head of his faction of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and party secretary general Mushahid Hussain Syed, Hamayun Saifullah Khan, the brother of Salim Saifullah Khan, the head of PML-Q’s breakaway faction known as the ‘Like-Minded group’, parliamentary leader of MQM Dr Farooq Sattar, Jamat-e-Islami’s Professor Khurshid Ahmed and  leaders of some smaller groups.

Absent from this dinner were parties of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led ruling coalition, from which Maulana Fazl parted ways in the centre a few months ago. Though the MQM is in the coalition, they are not a part of the government, having resigned from their ministries.

The leaders who attended the dinner meeting limited themselves to cosmetic statements, saying they were there to discuss current political situation. However, the sources said that the move was part of covert efforts being made for the last many months to cobble together a formidable alliance against the ruling PPP

A close associate of Maulana Fazl confirmed on condition of anonymity that the move was part of efforts to form a “grand opposition alliance” to seek fresh parliamentary polls before February next year.

“The contours of this alliance are not yet clear as things are at a preliminary stage,” the JUI-F chief’s confidant said, adding that it is also not yet decided as to who would lead the proposed alliance, for which some  of the parties have been in active consultation with each other in the recent past.

The PML-N and Jamat-e-Islami in the beginning remained aloof from this move, but their central leaders attended Friday’s dinner. Sources said efforts were also under way to bring Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf under this umbrella in the near future.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2011.