LAHORE, Feb 2: The Unification Bloc will foil ‘conspiracies’ being hatched against the Sharifs and will continue to support the ‘most popular leadership of Pakistan’.

According to a press release issued on Wednesday, Dr Tahir Ali Javed, former provincial health minister and new leader of the Unification Bloc, said this while talking to the media after submitting an application to PA speaker regarding appointment of a new opposition leader and allotment of separate seats to bloc members in the house.

On the occasion, Speaker Rana Iqbal said he would take a decision on the application after reviewing the assembly rules, relevant law and the Constitution.

Earlier, a meeting of the PML-Q splinter group was held in the assembly’s Committee Room. After the meeting, Unification Bloc leader Atta Muhammad Manika told media men that 44 members were present in the bloc’s parliamentary party meeting, whereas 47 members had signed the application.

He said 41 members were required to change the parliamentary leader whereas the bloc had 47 members.

He said though the bloc members were not joining any other political party, they would back the party which was ‘working in the best interest of the nation and the country’. He claimed that soon the bloc’s strength would be 50.

Mr Manika said the group had separated itself constitutionally from the party of Chaudhrys of Gujrat.

He said this was a majority decision and incumbent opposition leader Chaudhry Zaheeruddin would also have to accept it. He claimed MPA Najaf Abbas Sial had again joined the Unification Bloc.