ISLAMABAD, Nov 16: A split in the Pakistan Muslim League-Q appears imminent with differences between factions led by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Hamid Nasir Chattha having sharpened on key issues, including fresh party elections, sources said.

A source in the PML-Q said on Sunday that the Chaudhrys of Gujrat had decided to convene the party’s 200-member Central Working Committee (CWC), instead of the 30-member Central Executive Committee (CEC), to get rid of the dissident group.

The Chattha group had demanded a meeting of the CEC after the two leaders failed to reach an accord on setting up a committee to keep the party intact and organise party elections.

The decision to covene the CWC meeting was taken after Chaudhry Parvaiz Elahi completed a round of meetings with councillors in all districts of Punjab and reportedly won the support of all of them.

Chaudhry Shujaat, who was offered by the other faction to become the party’s patron-in-chief and allow a new leadership to emerge, is learnt to have succumbed to Pervaiz Elahi’s pressure.

The Chattha-led faction wants the CEC meeting convened because it thinks that most of its members support it while the Chaudhrys are confident that they will prevail in the CWC which has majority of the original leaguers since the time five parties were merged with the PML-Q.

PML-Q nominees in the CWC number more than 100, followed by those of Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari, Ijazul Haq, Hamid Nasir Chattha, PML-F and the faction of Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo.

Almost immediately after the merger the PML-F led by Pir Pagaro decided to quit the unified League while the faction led by Mr Wattoo also left the party and joined the PPP.

The CWC now comprises more of those Leaguers who had been nominated by Chaudhry Shujaat or who had filled the seats vacated by departing members.

A Chattha faction leader told Dawn that his group would not allow a split in the party but oppose the convening of the CWC and insist on holding the CEC meeting.

Azim Chaudhry of the same group said his group wanted the CEC meeting because most of its members were “known” and they supported his group.

He said that although the CEC originally comprised 30 members, but its number always varied swelling at times to more than 60, because the party leadership would often summon some leaders on special invitation.

The CEC has all senior vice-presidents (more then 15), a number of vice-presidents, secretary-general and four additional secretaries-general, presidents and secretaries-general of the four provinces and a few leaders nominated by the party president.

The CWC held about half a dozen meetings, most of them at the Prime Minister’s House when the party was in power.

Media adviser to the PML-Q Malik Mustafa said that the CWC meeting would be convened in about a week’s time to settle the contentious issue of a change in party leadership.

Chaudhry Shujaat and Chaudhry Parvaiz have also held meetings with party leaders in Karachi and Lahore and with Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari and former foreign minister Mian Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the PML-Q’s provincial executive committee in the NWFP has decided to back Chaudhry Shujaat.

According to sources, the decision was taken at a meeting presided over by PML-Q’s provincial President Amir Muqam.