- Gen Musharraf has set eyes on leading unified PML but some leaders are not ready to bring him onboard
- Source says PML-F chief Pagara wants ‘signal’ from Establishment for merger of all PML factions
The unification or merger of the factions of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) looks to be a non-starter as heads of the various groups are either putting hard conditions for the unification bid or are looking towards the Establishment for a ‘signal’.
While Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and All-Pakistan Muslim League (APML) leaders claim that APML chief General (r) Pervez Musharraf has demanded the slot of chairman of the United Muslim League (UML), other leaders have denied any such pre-condition from the former dictator. Meanwhile, some leaders have rejected the idea of a merger altogether, saying that only an alliance is possible between the various factions.
Talking to Pakistan Today, a PML leader from Sindh said, “During the first meeting held in Karachi, Musharraf told PML-Functional chief Pir Pagara and PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain that neither the people nor the Establishment would accept him in the role of a follower of any PML leader. Both Pagara and Shujaat agreed to his notion and said they had no objection to his appointment as chairman of the United Muslim League.”
The politician said that Pir Pagara’s only condition for joining the unified league would be “a clear signal from the Establishment”.
“Pagara also said that since his party was already part of the coalition government in the Centre, he could not pull out his party without any clear indication from the military top brass,” the source claimed.
The leaguer further said that Musharraf, however, snubbed Pagara, saying how the Establishment could put its eggs in the basket of the Muslim Leaguers even when they had no political stature.
“Musharraf said that a unified league should first make itself relevant to the Establishment by mobilizing public support against the ruling PML-Nawaz,” he said, adding that the former dictator said that it would be immature to expect the Establishment’s support for the factions which had become irrelevant in the evolving political equation.
The source quoted Musharraf as telling the participants that they were already late and that the local government polls were already over their heads.
“If we don’t do well and could not take off in the local bodies polls, the PML unification would not have any significance,” the source quoted Musharraf.
Asked what was the reaction of Chaudhry Shujaat, the source said the PML-Q chief was of the view that Musharraf had raised valid points and all the faction heads must focus on the local bodies polls.
Another PML leader, however, said that PML leader Syed Ghous Ali Shah had strongly opposed the inclusion of Gen Musharraf’s APML in the new party.
The source quoted Shah as saying that Musharraf carried a heavy baggage and it would not be wise for the United Muslim League to include him in its ranks.
“Accepting Musharraf means that you write-off the party’s success in interior Sindh and Balochistan where Musharraf is highly unpopular. Moreover, we would also be offending the religious groups, the moderates and even major parties like the Pakistan People’s Party and PML-N that are strongly opposed to Musharraf,” the source quoted Ghous Ali Shah as telling the participants of a meeting held in Lahore at the residence of former PML-N leader Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa.
The source said that even Khosa was also opposed to the idea of having Musharraf as the party chairman and he had expressed his reservations about the majority’s decision.
“However, most of the faction heads want to take Gen Musharraf along as they believe he could use his personal influence to win the military’s support. The military has clearly expressed its support for Musharraf in the recent past,” the source added.
The source said that before the last meeting held at the residence of Sardar Khosa, most of the leaguers believed that Chaudhry Shujaat would not attend the meeting because it was being held at the residence of Khosa and neither Musharraf nor Pir Pagaro were attending.
“Moreover, Khosa had also invited Chaudhry Hamid Nasir Chattha disregarding Chaudhry Shujaat’s reservations about his inclusion in the UML. However, Shujaat attended the meeting along with Dr Khalid Ranjha,” said the source.
“During the meeting, Chattha said that rather than naming the new party as UML, it should be renamed as All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) because all factions of PML would be unified under one banner,” the source said, and added that Shujaat opposed the idea, saying it would mean that all the parties were being merged into Musharraf’s APML.
“Moreover, Shujaat said this would also create some legal implications as his party’s Lahore and Islamabad secretariats had been registered under the name of Pakistan Muslim League. Now if the new party adopts a new name of APML, it would not be able to use both these secretariats,” the source added.
The source said that all the participants agreed to the points raised by Shujaat and it was decided that Dr Khalid Ranjha would find a legal solution in this regard.
After the meeting, Chattha left everyone surprised when he told journalists that they had decided in principle to merge all factions under one banner and the merger would be announced in the coming week. However, no meeting has been summoned despite the lapse of two weeks.
When contacted, PML-Q Secretary Information Senator Kamil Ali Agha confirmed that a merger was not possible between PML factions.
“It seems that the efforts for unification of PML factions would lead towards an alliance and not a merger or unification. If it matures, the party leaders would again meet after Eidul Azha, possibly by the first week of next month to discuss an alliance,” he added.
Asked if the merger was not on the table, why merger was announced by Hamid Nasir Chattha at recently held press conference at the residence of Zulfiqar Khosa, Agha said that Chattha had no stakes so he could make any statement.
Asked what was the stance of Pir Pagara and why he was reluctant to join the merger efforts, Agha said Pir Pagara was also backing efforts for an alliance and not a merger.
“Our friends need to understand that merger would create leadership problems,” he added.
Asked would the PML accept the demand by General Musharraf for appointment as new party’s chairman, Agha said that Musharraf had made no demand for the top slot in the new alliance.
APML leader Major-General (r) Rashid Qureshi opposed claims made by Senator Agha, saying that an agreement was reached between the heads of the league factions on the merger and an alliance was never discussed.
He added that the merger would be announced after the meeting likely to be held shortly after Eid. He admitted that Ghous Ali Shah had some reservations against Musharraf but now he was supporting the idea.
Asked whether Pir Pagaro would attend the next meeting, Qureshi said that Pir Sahib had delivered a message to Ghous Ali Shah in this regard.