Islamabad (IANS) : The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of religious-political parties in Pakistan, has failed to arrive at a decision on whether or not to boycott the Jan 8 elections.
The coalition has deferred the withdrawal of nomination papers of its candidates till Dec 15, The News said Sunday. The alliance leadership met Saturday here to discuss the issue.
“We have decided to keep all options open till the last date of withdrawal of nomination papers which was also necessary to keep the MMA intact,” a central leader of the MMA told the daily.
The process of consultation to reach a final decision would continue, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, general secretary of the MMA, told reporters after the meeting.
Ahmad reiterated demand for revoking emergency and restoration of the judiciary to the pre-Nov 3 status, saying that fair elections are not possible in the prevailing situation.
The newspaper quoting sources said Maulana Fazlur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, one of the six religious parties of the alliance, told the meeting that the announcement on boycott the elections was conditional and any party of the MMA should not take any decision in haste.
He said that the decision to boycott the polls was wrong but favoured efforts to continue dialogue with other parties of the MMA, which insist on staying away from the election process in the times of emergency.
Rehman said that he would try to convince the MMA about his stance on participating in the elections, adding that boycotting the polls would be like giving a free hand to the forces “towing the US line”.
“We are trying to convince each other,” the radical Islamist leader said.