LAHORE - Federal Minister for Water and Power Ch Ahmad Mukhtar has said the seat adjustment agreement between the PPP and PML-Q would not be materialised because it ignored the ground realities.

“I don’t think the two parties would be able to strike a deal over seat adjustments ahead of polls,” he told a group of journalists here at his residence on Monday.
The PPP leader said it was a fact that voters belonging to other parties do not vote for PPP candidates and vice versa. “We have seen in the last by-elections that the PPP-PML-Q alliance experiment has not worked.”
Asked about ongoing seat adjustment negotiations with PML-Q, the minister said that nothing was final as yet. “President Zardari would make a final decision in the light of the report of a committee to which I and Manzoor Wattoo are members.”
To a question, he said he would be happy if his rival Chaudhry cousins decided to contest the coming elections against him. “We are aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses in Gujrat constituencies.”
Mukhtar claimed that he would not only defeat his opponents in urban localities of Gujrat but also in the rural constituencies where he has strengthened his position.
To another question, he said that parties which don’t stand any chance of winning the coming elections were conspiring to create hurdles. “Timely and fair elections would be in country’s best interest.”
About Dr Tahirul Qadri, Mukhtar said he was not sure about TMQ chief’s popularity in the country who won only one seat in the last elections, though he did stage an impressive show at Islamabad.
Asked about PTI’s political position, he said that after some initial successes, Imran has failed to come up to the expectations of the youth and those who wanted change. “Imran has now lost peoples’ support.”
“The Chaudhrys, Dr Qadri and Imran Khan -all together- were not in a position to get the elections postponed,” he observed, adding that President Zardari had said more than once that assemblies would complete their terms.
The minister gave a ridiculous remark on the refusal of the Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against Asif Zardari, as he said that those who had been levelling allegations against him should apologise from the nation.