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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Merger of Pro-Musharraf parties moves forward |
| 2004-05-13 |
| Following the unification of five Pakistan Muslim League (PML) factions, two break-away factions of the Benazir Bhutto-led Pakistan People’s Party–PPP-Sherpao and PPP-Patriots–will also unify into one party on May 17. Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal, who is also chief of PPP-Patriots, and Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, president of his own faction of the PPP, on Wednesday held a detailed meeting and decided to announce their parties’ unification on May 17. Sources told Daily Times that after the unification of these two factions, the new political entity would be registered with the Election Commission as the Pakistan People’s Party with Mr Rao as its chairman and Mr Sherpao as its president. As the Benazir-led PPP of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was disqualified from participating in the 2002 elections, no political party under the nomenclature of Pakistan People’s Party was allotted an election symbol by the Election Commission. Under the election rules and with the amendments in the Political Parties Order, no convict can hold a party office or become its member. Similarly, no political party led by a convict can contest the elections. Benazir Bhutto was declared an absconder for not appearing in a court and subsequently she was convicted in absentia under the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance (NABO). The PML-Nawaz had overcome a similar obstacle by electing Shahbaz Sharif as its president as Nawaz Sharif could also not head a political party for being a convict. He was disqualified after having been sentenced by an Accountability Court in the helicopter case. The President Musharraf-led establishment’s plan is to unite all PML and PPP factions, keeping both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif out of mainstream political parties. As a first step all PML factions minus the Nawaz-led group, have already united. With the unification of the two break-away PPP factions, the ground will be leveled to also invite other PPP factions and the politicians who had long parted ways with Benazir Bhutto after her illustrious father was hanged. Sources said once the PPP-Sherpao and PPP-Patriots united, the close associates of ZA Bhutto, who were the assets of the PPP and went into hibernation due to their differences with Benazir Bhutto, would also be invited at a later stage to join the minus-Benazir PPP. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #2 so can perv gather ALL the secular pols, while still keeping the MMA? As long as he is able to hand out enough perks Does this mean that he can rely on the secular pols more, and ditch the MMA? I don't see why he would want to ditch them, at the very least he will stick with Fazl's party. |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2004-05-13 6:27:05 PM |
| #1 so can perv gather ALL the secular pols, while still keeping the MMA? Does this mean that he can rely on the secular pols more, and ditch the MMA? |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-05-13 9:47:19 AM |