Dissident members of pro-President Pervez Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) have accelerated efforts to further strengthen the “forward bloc” in the Punjab Assembly to play the role of a “friendly opposition” in the state. The PML-Q, which has 86 members in the Punjab Assembly, including 16 women elected on reserved seats, is facing severe difficulties in nominating candidates for speaker, deputy speaker and chief minister, due to dissent of those who had earlier been elected on PML-Q tickets, but later constituted the forward bloc. The forward bloc representatives (defectors) meet on April 8 to choose their parliamentary and deputy parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly, a member of the group Najaf Abbas Sial said. “There are currently 36 members in the bloc, although we have a target for 45 members,” he said, adding that if the number required was not reached, the bloc would have to adopt another strategy. He claimed that a number of PML-Q elected members, including seven women-elect, were in contact with the bloc, and that he expected the bloc would achieve its target of 45 members before they took oath as members of the Punjab Assembly. Sial said the forward bloc would unconditionally support the PML-Nawaz government in Punjab, saying: “We will vote for the chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker candidates nominated by the PML-N and will also support the policies of the government.” __