Islamabad: PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif on Thursday rebuffed fresh attempts for a rapprochement by PPP which invited the party back to the government and asked it to withdraw its candidate in Pakistan's Presidential election.
Sharif, who addressed his parliamentary party, put a condition for withdrawal of the PML-N candidate saying the President's powers to dissolve Parliament should be scrapped and the judges sacked during last year's emergency restored.
Asif Ali Zardari, PPP's co-Chairman and candidate in the September 6 Presidential poll, on Thursday followed up on its apology and called Sharif over telephone to put forward the requests but the efforts bore no fruit.
PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal told reporters that Zardari referred to his apology extended to Sharif shortly after he broke away from the coalition on Monday as well as his comments being unable to restore the deposed judges due to
"pressures from certain groups.
Sharif thanked Zardari for his apology but said the PML-N would not not like to rejoin the coalition "in the near future".
Iqbal said Sharif turned down Zardari's request to withdraw PML-N candidate Saeed-uz Zaman Siddiqui who will be contesting against the PPP chief.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Election Commission today accepted the nomination papers of Zardari, PML-N candidate Siddiqui and PML-Q leader Mushahid Hussain Sayed for the presidential polls, setting the stage for a triangular contest.
Siddiqui declared that he was in the race and would reach out all parties and electors for success in the election.
However, there were unconfirmed reports that some PPP and PML-N leaders met here to discuss possibilities of reaching an understanding on the Presidential poll.
There was no word from both the parties on it.
Senior PML-N leader Zafar Iqbal Jhagra also met Jamiat Ulema-e Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is part of the ruling coalition, to rally support for the party's candidate in the Presidential elections.
On the day of scrutiny of nomination papers, the poll body received no objections against the candidates put up by the three parties in the September 6 elections.
Though reports had suggested that the PML-N and PML-Q might raise objections to Zardari's candidature, the leaders of the two parties told Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq that they had nothing against the nomination of the PPP co-Chairman.
PML-N split from the ruling coalition after accusing Zardari of reneging on several agreements to reinstate dozens of judges deposed by former President Pervez Musharraf during last year's emergency rule.
Zardari had apologised to Sharif on Monday saying he had "hurt" his feelings and hinted that certain powers within and outside Pakistan were opposed to the restoration of the deposed judges.
Musharraf resigned on August 18 to avoid impeachment by the coalition, thus necessitating the holding of presidential polls.
In another indication that the PML-N is not not keen on rejoining the coalition, senior party leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan met Priand asked him to accept the resignations of his party ministers, who had quit the Cabinet in May.
The PML-N ministers had resignmeet two deadlines for reinstating the sacked judges. After PML-N quit the coalition, PPP selectively reinstated judges
reappointing eight of them on Wednesday.
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