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Mohammad Shehzad in Karachi
Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, president of the Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal -- an alliance of six religious parties -- has nominated Maulana Fazlur Rehman for the office of the prime minister and Liaquat Baloch for the post of the speaker of the national assembly.
Rehman is the head of his own faction of Jamiat-e-Ulemai Islam, whereas Baloch is the deputy head of Jamat-e-Islami.
"We have reached this decision through consensus. It is the decision of the MMA. Whether we form the government with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam or the PPPP, our demand is Maulana Fazalur Rehman will be our prime minister," senior leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad told rediff.com.
Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, another potential candidate in the race of prime minister, showed no enthusiasm after hearing this announcement. "This could be the opinion of the MMA leadership. Things have not been finalised. So, nothing is certain at this moment," he said.
This move by the MMA has surprised the political pundits in Islamabad because Maulana Fazalur Rehman was a potential candidate for the slot of North West Frontier Province's chief minister.
"This demand will not be acceptable because the PML-QA is determined to have a prime minister of its own party. It has 77 seats in the national assembly, whereas the PPPP and the MMA have clinched 63 and 45 respectively. There are 29 independent candidates in the national assembly, besides 13 seats won by the National Alliance, which is a pro-government entity. This means a coalition government of the PML-QA, the PPPP, the NA, and independents is easily possible. Thus MMA's 'unreasonable' demand could be completely ignored," said a political analyst.
If the PML-QA and the PPPP formed the government, the contentious issue would be the office of prime minister.
The PML-QA would not let it go to the PPPP, who is determined to bring Benazir Bhutto as the prime minister.
"Nothing will happen. Makhdoom Amin Fahim [PPPP chief] has established his standing. In the present scenario, he is more important than Bhutto, whose political career has come to an end. She can't become the prime minister again because of the recently introduced constitutional amendments. And it will not be possible to reverse these amendments considering the fragile situation of the future parliament, which will be a 'rubber-stamp'. Therefore, Amin Fahim will be ready to form the government with the PML-QA without demanding the office of the prime minister," said a senior PPPP worker.
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