December 13, 2007	Thursday	Zilhaj 2, 1428

QUETTA, Dec 12: The National Party is divided over the boycott issue and the senior vice-president of the party, Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, has announced the formation of National Party Parliamentarians (NPP) which will contest the elections.

Addressing a press conference in Khuzdar on Wednesday, Sardar Zehri, who is also the Chief of Jhalawan, said the party central executive committee had decided that it would boycott the polls if the PML (N) also joined the boycott.

He asserted that the boycott decision was conditional to PML(N) abiding by it, but now that Nawaz Sharif was contesting the elections a boycott by the National Party was meaningless.

Sardar Zehri said the faction of National Party led Dr Hayee Baloch was in favour of boycotting the polls from the APDM platform, but the group led by him differed with other faction on the issue.

He said the NPP would contest the polls to protect the rights of the people of Balochistan.

It may be recalled that Balochistan Caretaker Chief Minister Sardar Muhammad Saleh Bhootani had met Sardar Zehri at his residence in Anjira near Khuzdar on Monday and discussed issues pertaining to polls and the political situation in the province.