KARACHI, 25 April — Differences in the Pakistan Muslim League faction led by Mian Azhar surfaced as former Interior Minister Shujaat Hussain, who spearheaded the campaign to install former Punjab Governor Mian Azhar as the president of the party, has begun to take a different stand.
In an interview in Washington Sunday night he said that a coalition government should be immediately set up in Pakistan. He said he would have been much happier to see the assemblies restored, but if the military did not want that, it should look into the possibility of setting up a national government.
He said in that case the government should ask the political parties to nominate their best men for Cabinet posts. Shujaat, currently in the US for the treatment of his mother, denied that those who formed a separate faction of the Muslim League did it on the instigation of the government. Those in the party had taken the decision to disassociate from Nawaz Sharif after a great deal of thought. Messages were sent to Sharif to allow someone to take charge of the party at least until his return. The party split because of Sharif’s refusal to heed to logic or reasoning. He (Sharif) started putting conditions, 90 percent of which were accepted. It was Sharif who backed out, Shujaat said.
Shujaat, who had earlier backed Azhar against Sharif, once again repeated his call for appointing a prime minister from a small province. Azhar, sources said, was not happy with Shujaat’s remarks because that meant blocking Azhar’s chances for the prime minister’s slot.
