ISLAMABAD, 14 August 2006 — The ruling Pakistan Muslim League general council meet was marred by unpleasant incidents late Saturday as rival groups from Sindh exchanged blows with each other.
The clashes occurred in the presence of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, ministers and other senior party leaders. Aziz’s speech was interrupted by slogan-chanting supporters of Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim and Imtiaz Shaikh. The verbal duel soon turned into violent fist-fight.
Some participants of the meeting had earlier expressed reservations when they learned that the chief ministers of Sindh and Balochistan, along with some senators, were turned away from the meeting’s venue “for security reasons”.
Earlier, the general council meeting, through a resolution, endorsed the re-election of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain Syed as president and secretary-general, respectively, and empowered the party president to nominate all office-bearers.
Aziz praised the party’s performance and expressed the confidence that the it will win the next general elections.
