ISLAMABAD, April 25: Senior leaders of the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday announced that there was no threat to the existence of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) as the parties had successfully removed misunderstandings between them.

Talking to Dawn after a meeting of senior leaders of the two parties, ARD secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said the PPP leaders had assured the PML-N leadership that they would not take any solo flight and talks with the government would be held only from the ARD platform.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Raza Rabbani and Enver Baig attended the meeting from the PPP side while Raja Zafarul Haq, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Tehmina Daultana, Ishaq Dar and Syed Zafar Ali Shah represented the PML-N.

Mr Jhagra, who is also the secretary-general of the PML-N, said that his party was now satisfied with the clarifications given by the PPP regarding the ongoing reconciliation process. He said the PPP leaders had informed them that at present no formal negotiations were being held with the government or the establishment.

The ARD secretary-general said talks between the PPP and the PML-N were held in a very cordial atmosphere and leaders of both the parties vowed to implement the ARD charter as agreed in a recent meeting between PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif in Jeddah.

He said the leaders of the two parties agreed that extreme caution would be exercised from both sides before issuing any statement on policy matters.

A source told Dawn that the PML-N leaders expressed serious concern over the statements of Asif Zardari in which he had said that the army was a reality and the PPP was ready to hold talks with it. The source said the PPP leaders told the PML-N leadership that Asif Zardari was husband of Ms Bhutto and had no office in the party and, therefore, his views could not be considered policy statements.

Talking to reporters at the farm house residence of Makhdoom Amin Fahim soon after the meeting, the ARD leaders said they would continue the struggle for the restoration of the 1973 constitution and parliament’s sovereignty and the alliance would continue to stay in existence till the achievement of these objectives.

PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq said that no component party of the ARD would hold talks or make any agreement with Gen Pervez Musharraf on its own. He added that some misunderstanding had developed between the two parties due to the statements of some PPP leaders but it had now been removed.

Mr Fahim said no party would leave the alliance, formed by the late Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, till the achievement of its objectives. He said a meeting of the heads of component parties had been convened in Islamabad on Thursday to discuss the future strategy.

It may be mentioned that at a press conference on Thursday, acting PML-N parliamentary leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced that his party would stay away from all activities of the 17-party ARD owing to the attitude of the PPP.

Mr Nisar had asked the PPP to clarify its position whether it wanted to hold talks with the establishment or to launch a movement against the military government. He had also accused the PPP leadership of not taking his party into confidence about plans for the reception for ex-senator Asif Zardari in Lahore on April 16 and expressed concern over Mr Zardari’s statements that the PPP was holding talks with the rulers.

Soon after Mr Nisar’s news conference, Mr Fahim went to the PML-N chairman’s residence on the directive of party chairperson Benazir Bhutto and requested him for a meeting of senior leadership of the two parties on Monday.