-- Raja Zafarul Haq says it was agreed that both ways can be adopted, but there are differences on the issue of boycott.
"The meeting could not evolve consensus on whether or not to take part in election," said Raja Zafarul Haq, a senior leader of Sharif's party.
"It was agreed that both ways can be adopted, but there are differences on the issue of boycott," Haq told reporters after the meeting. He said individual parties would have to decide whether to take part.
"We will convene the meeting of our central executive committee soon and decide about taking part in elections," Haq said.
"Other parties would also hold their meetings and decide about taking part in elections, or otherwise," Haq said, declining to name which parties favoured a boycott.- In Lahore, an alliance of opposition parties was divided on the question of boycotting the January 8 polls, party officials said.
The All Parties Democratic Movement alliance including the parties of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal had earlier called for boycotting the elections. The APDM, an alliance of some 35 parties, says that free and fair elections are not possible under the hand-picked judiciary and emergency rule imposed by President Pervez Musharraf on November 3.
But other opposition parties of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Pashtun nationalist Awami National Party and pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam favour taking part.
"There are two different point of views: obviously the one is that the field must not be left open, particularly in the light of the possibility of few parties from opposition taking part in election," Ishaq Dar said.
"I hope this would be a conclusive and a very decision-making session." The central leader of the MMA, Liaqauat Baloch, said that his party was already "firm" on the boycott decision.
Talks between the APDM and Pakistan Peoples Party have deadlocked over the drafting of a joint list of demands they want Musharraf to meet to ensure the January vote is not rigged, should they decide to take part. Nawaz and Benazir are expected to meet next week to hammer out an agreement, party officials said.
"We have no objection to their meeting with anyone, but diplomats should not make public comments after such meetings," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told AFP.