ISLAMABAD: The final draft of the National Reconciliation Ordinance, approved by the government and the Pakistan People’s Party, has been sent to the federal cabinet for assent. After approval by the cabinet it will be sent to the president for promulgation on Friday.

Sources said that the ordinance was altered to accommodate the viewpoint of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement which wanted the indemnity period to begin from 1985 and bring in its purview all political workers who had been charged but not convicted during the period.

The sources said that President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the attorney-general and the president’s negotiating team remained in conference with the aides of Benazir Bhutto till 3am on Thursday and finalised the draft which was then sent to the law ministry for vetting. Its language was also discussed with Ms Bhutto’s legal aide Senator Farooq Naik.

At an iftar hosted by Prime Minister Aziz, President Musharraf is reported to have faced a volley of questions from PML lawmakers about the future of the party if PPP entered into a power-sharing deal.

The president reportedly called a closed-door session at the PM House and briefed ministers and senior Leaguers on details of talks with Ms Bhutto and assured them that PML’s status would not be compromised despite a deal with the PPP.

The sources quoted President Musharraf as saying that the government was trying to achieve consensus and reconciliation for the sake of harmony on important national issues in the best interest of the country.

However, a large number of PML leaders are reported to be against the parameters laid down in the ordinance which would not only give indemnity to Ms Bhutto but also to MQM chief Altaf Hussain.

Earlier, PML legislators Tasnim Nawaz Gardezi, Ali Akbar Vance, Safdar Shakir and a former federal minister in Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet, Capt Haleem Siddiqui, called on Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and expressed their reservations over the ordinance.

Mr Gardezi, a former federal minister, is reported to have told the party chief that the entire PML politics had been based on anti-PPP sentiments and if the party was forced to ally with that party, it would lose its vote bank as well as political support.