Pak parties make efforts to patch up

Smaller parties in Pakistan have launched a bid to patch up differences between President Asif Ali Zardari and opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif before matters reach a point of no return.

Smaller parties in Pakistan have launched a bid to patch up differences between President Asif Ali Zardari and opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif before matters reach a point of no return.

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Though Sharif appears to be in no mood of patch up, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Awami National Party leader Asfandyar Wali Khan have initiated efforts to get the two main parties to resolve their differences.

"We have convinced Zardari to sit down with Nawaz Sharif and resolve the issue through dialogue," Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman told reporters after he and Khan met the President on Sunday.

"Zardari has given us the go-ahead to talk to Nawaz Sharif, which is a good sign," said Rehman, who met Zardari after discussions with PML-N president and former Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on phone.

Rehman said he and other leaders were trying to work out a settlement with the PML-N though no timeframe could be set for this. He advised both Zardari and Sharif to soften their stances as otherwise they would reach a "point of no return".