Zardari, Fahim friction far from over
PPP entangled over PM slate
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD—President Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians, Makhdoom Amin Fahim Thursday said he is still a candidate for the post of Prime Minister and that he is not interested in the post of National Assembly speaker.
Talking to media after his meeting with PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari here at Zardari House, he said his meeting with Zardari was held in a friendly atmosphere. “More such meetings will be held in future,” he added.
“I will be first person to support Zardari if he wished to become the Prime Minister,” Amin Fahim remarked. To a question, he said he is President of PPP and that he considered his present position much more important than that of a President of Pakistan. “In case Asif Zardari nominates someone else for the job of Prime Minister, the decision as to what course of action to be adopted will be made then,” he said. Answering another question Amin Fahim said, he had sent a legal notice to Khawaja Asif and waiting for the reply.
The renowned leader of PPPP, Ahmad Mukhtar has said that he was among the four contenders for the much-coveted post of PM. Talking to journalists, outside Zardari House on Thursday, he said that however no decision regarding the final candidate for the post of PM has been announced a yet.
Sources have informed that consensus and talks regarding the ongoing controversial issue of Premiership and formation of government rages on within PPPP rank and file. Ahmad Mukhtar blamed the late requisition of opening session of National Assembly behind all this raging controversy and delay, saying that had the session been requisitioned earlier, the issue of PM would have been solved much earlier and smoothly.
Replying to a question regarding working relationship with President Musharraf, he said that this would be done in accordance to decided regulations. He also said that party was carrying on a regular consensus to solve the thorny question of Premiership, and only party leadership had the final right to make any decision.
Meanwhile talking to Private TV channel, another prominent leader Farzana Raja hoped that the nomination for PM would be made well before time, while nominations for speaker and deputy speaker Assembly would be even solved before that. She said that the decision regarding portfolios would be undertaken during joint parliamentary meetings of PPPP and PML-N, before which the chairmen of both parties would meet each other.
She also informed that Asif Ali Zardari has had held meetings with diplomats of various countries, and said that Makhdoom Amin Fahim was held in special esteem by party, and both meet each other daily to discuss matters of mutual interest. These meetings are more important due to the fact that due to summons for the beginning session of NA on 17th March, important issues like coalition government, and nominations for speaker and deputy speaker etc have to be decided well in advance.
She denied that there was any delay in nomination of PM, saying that it was “just being withheld until appropriate time for announcing the final name “ and said that before the meeting of central executive meeting a press release would be announced, while the joint meeting of coalition parties would be held at 0800 hrs at the NA building, and names of Speaker and deputy speaker would be announced one day prior, on 16th March.