A crucial meeting between the MQM and the PPP on Friday has left a sense of renewed commitment by the two political parties to build bridges of friendship and make the coalition more effective through consultative decision making. The welcome accorded to the Sindh Home Minister, who accompanied Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, at Nine-Zero indicated the easing of tension between the two parties, which had been caused by Zulfikar Mirzas tirade against the MQM a few months ago.
Coalitions with diverse partnerships are vulnerable to collapse because it makes it difficult to find consensus and agreement over issues. Thats exactly what happened when the MQM decided to pull out of the federal cabinet and sit on the Treasury benches in the National Assembly following the recent increase in the POL prices which was subsequently withdrawn by the PPP regime under pressure from the opposition and its own allies. The two coalition partners also differed over the issue of the Reformed General Sales Tax and the prevalent tension was further exacerbated by Zulfikar Mirzas offensive remarks against the MQM. The breakthrough achieved at Nine-Zero is welcome and hopefully the understanding between the two parties will last longer than before. But for that their leaderships will have to make it more meaningful. They need to work together to devise a comprehensive strategy to contain growing lawlessness in the countrys financial capital. The practice of patronising the land grabbers and drug mafia must end.
Politics of alliances and realignments is no stranger to a democratic polity. But as far as PPPs decision to mend fences with the MQM is concerned it was caused by the PML(N)s confrontational stance which its leadership does not want to shed. This became more evident when Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif rejected outright his elder brother’s call for pursing politics of reconciliation at a meeting with a delegation of Pakistan Business Council.
