The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has agreed to rejoin the federal cabinet on condition that the government include maximum of its input on fiscal matters in the forthcoming federal budget. Another condition put forth by the MQM is that the government form a judicial commission to probe target killings in Karachi and a committee to introduce economic reforms in the country. “The demands were conveyed through the PML-Q leadership to the president on Friday”, an MQM leader told Pakistan Today on Saturday.Asked would the MQM be flexible, he said, “The MQM can be flexible if the government announces to probe the Karachi target killings, in which the MQM workers are being selectively killed and revises the reformed general sales tax to reduce reliance on indirect taxes, as they weigh heavy upon the poor,” he added.
Asked if Shujaat would be able to influence the president, the source said Shujaat wanted to resolve the issue “through the media” and that was the reason he had advised the MQM to be flexible.
“President Asif Ali Zardari had grown less flexible towards the MQM since the removal of Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza and no significant talks had been held afterwards,” the source added. “Chaudhry Shujaat is now acting as a conduit between the two parties because he too wanted the MQM to be on board in the federal cabinet.” “The PML-Q also wants to give impression that it is going to join the government on basis of pro-people agenda, like reduction in petroleum prices and measures to end price hike, and now this point would be negotiated in next meeting of the PML-Q and the MQM”, the party leader said.
When asked why the talks had been suspended and Zardari become less flexible, the source said, “It is a two-pronged policy, like the carrot and stick policy, because President Zardari believes that his talks with the PML-Q will compel the MQM to rejoin the cabinet offering at as minimum as possible in case of need.”
