Nawaz's exit to help reunite party: Ejaz
By Syed Irfan Raza
ISLAMABAD, Dec 10: A dissident leader of Pakistan Muslim League, Ejazul Haq, said on Sunday that the expulsion of Nawaz Sharif would help reunite the party.
"Muslim League will now strengthen after the expulsion of the Nawaz family," Mr Ejaz told Dawn in an interview.
Referring to the exile of the entire Sharif family to Saudi Arabia, he said the former prime minister used the party for his own interests.
"Nawaz Sharif exploited his voters, the party and the country for his own interests."
The son of the former military dictator said that the party leaders were unaware of the deal struck between the government and the Sharif family.
"Although we had some idea, nobody knew that Mr Sharif, who had been convicted in two cases, would be pardoned in such a manner," he added.
He said if other party leaders had realized the designs of Mr Sharif, the party could have been saved from the split.
Mr Haq said many leaders of the PML(N), including Raja Zafarul Haq, had contacted him and expressed their willingness to reunite the party.
He said an acting president of the party would shortly be chosen with the consent of both the groups and then a meeting of the PML parliamentary party would be called to form a council.
"This council will hold elections in the party to elect the party president and other office-bearers," Mr Haq added.
Talking about the newly-formed Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), he said after the departure of the Sharif family, the alliance had automatically collapsed.
Another leader of the PML rebel group, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, said that after the exit of Nawaz, the split in the party had automatically vanished.( Dawn, Dec 11, 2000 )
