The honeymoon of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has come to an end as the MQM seems reluctant to talk with any of the leaders of the PPP, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Sources said that the friendly relations between the two political parties have finished completely and the MQM is now reacting as a strong opposition in Sindh, whereas the PPP is trying to calm them down.
In the past few days, different leaders of the PPP have tried to contact the leaders of the MQM, but they could not succeed. The MQM leaders have refused to talk to any of the party leaders of the PPP.
The MQM has also not displayed any interest in meeting with Interior Minister Rehman Malik. The interior minister has talked with the leaders of the Awami National Party (ANP) and discussed the situation of Karachi with them. The minister has assured the ANP leaders that their reservations would be removed.
The federal minister tried to talk with the leaders of the MQM on the same issue, but could not succeed in doing so with any of the mainstream leaders of the party.
Malik wanted to visit Nine Zero, the headquarters of the MQM, to take them into confidence on the search operation being conducted by the law enforcement agencies in different areas of the city.
The minister made several attempts to contact the MQM but all in vain as the MQM leaders did not give any positive response to the high-ups in the government.
After their visit of the affected areas of the city, both the interior minister and Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan tried to contact the MQM leaders since they wanted to visit Nine Zero.
Mainstream leaders of the MQM did not respond to any of the attempts of the ministers, so both of stopped trying.
Dr Asim also tried to play his role in arranging a meeting between the interior minister and the high-ups of the MQM, but he could not succeed as well.
After failing to contact them, the high-ups of the PPP reacted strongly and suggested in a meeting at the Sindh Chief Minister House that no visits would be made in the near future to the headquarters of the MQM.
They declared that this act of the MQM leaders whereby they were not responding to their attempts of contacting them was an insult. Sources said that the MQM has expressed strong resistance on the worst situation of the city and has not replied to the calls of the interior minister.
The MQM has strong reservations over the decision of the government about ending the local bodies system, but they have not been available to discuss the matter.
