PML-Q plans direct contact with PML-N

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Muslim League-Q President Ch Shujaat Hussain has said that the party did not make agreement with any party for the formation of government in Punjab. The PMl-Q President said this while talking to media persons here on Thursday. He urged that the politicians should not promote horse trading and said that it gave a bad name to democracy. "Undoubtedly horse trading is a sheer black mark on democracy", he maintained. The former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, PML-Q General Secretary Mushahid Hussain and Information Secretary Tariq Azeem were also present on this occasion. Shujaat said that political crises in Punjab could be solved to save the system by implementing the formula, which he presented a few days back. "We need to work on the said formula," he said. "We do not believe in politics of confrontation and conspiracies," he made it clear. He said that there was no single party in Punjab in a position to form government and added that all the political parties must sit together to pull the Province out of the political crises. Shujaat said that meeting with Sharif Brothers was expected within one or two days to discuss the Punjab situation. On this occasion, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said that his party was ready to talk to each other and every political party to resolve the political crises in the country. He said that those who stole the mandate of Q-League should not seek its support now for the formation of their government. APP adds: Shujaat brushed aside the impression of his party's alliance with PPP for joining the governments at the Centre and in Punjab, saying that the media reports in this regard were 'baseless'. "No sir, there is no conspiracy being hatched out. However, I would soon meet PML-N leaders Mian Nawaz Sharif and Mian Shahbaz Sharif for holding crucial talks," he said. "During the talks with the PML-N leaders, I would also urge them not to encourage the PML-Q forward bloc and return them to the party fold as a Confidence Building Measure (CBM) between both the parties," he said. "The people of Punjab gave us a mandate in February polls and we stood at third position in the province. There is no other way but to implement Shujaat Formula in Punjab to form a stable government," he said. Pervaiz Elahi said Punjab was a very important province and any disorder in the province has an impact over the entire country. "Since the changes in Punjab have an impact over the entire country, it is necessary to form a stable government in the province. For the very reason, we are going to hold talks with the PML-N leadership," he said, adding that they would raise the issue of PML-Q forward bloc with the PML-N leaders. "This ugly tradition of horse-trading should be abandoned once and for all and the people's mandate given to a certain party should be respected. The forward bloc members are bringing a bad name to the politics and democratic system and I think the media should also play its due role in this regard," he added. Party's Secretary General Mushahid Hussain said the party had called its Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting on March 22 at Lahore for consultation with the party leaders for evolving party's future course of action.

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