PPP-MQM gearing up for showdown

The Sindh Assembly session that would commence on July 13 (tomorrow) would the first of its kind because a showdown between the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is already being expected.
Both the distanced government coalition partners have been finalising their strategies, and this session would be the first one when the ruling PPP would be facing an aggressive opposition from the MQM.
The MQM members had submitted a requisition for an assembly session, but tomorrow’s session is not going to be a requisite session because the government has convened it on its own as part of parliamentary tactics that have been used frequently in Pakistani politics since decades to avoid the opposition’s agenda.
The MQM had also expected the ruling party to make this move, which is why the opposition party has adopted another parliamentary tactic by submitting adjournment motions for compelling the government to talk on its agenda.
In parliamentary politics, the opposition submits adjournment motions on current issues, knowing full well that, according to the rules, an adjournment motion is given priority in the session whether or not it is called by the government.
MQM Members Provincial Assembly (MPAs) Syed Khalid Ahmed, Moin Aamir Pirzada, Heer Sohu and others have submitted five separate adjournment motions, seeking debate on the prevailing law and order situation in Karachi, the dispute between the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) management and its workers, power and gas load shedding in the metropolis and other parts of the province, and the incomplete work on the Indus River dykes that were affected by last year’s flood.
The ruling PPP has also been finalising its strategy for the assembly session. A meeting of the PPP’s parliamentary party was held at the Sindh Chief Minister House Monday evening.
Those who attended the meeting included Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Senior Sindh Education and Literacy Minister/Parliamentary Leader Pir Mazharul Haq, Senior Minister Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza, and Sindh Law Minister Ayaz Soomro.
The PPP could face huge difficulties due to the absence of Nisar Ahmed Khuhro in the assembly since he is presently serving as the acting governor of the province after Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan had resigned as the provincial governor.
Normally, Sindh Assembly Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza conducts the house proceedings in the absence of Khuhro, but she appears to be bothered even by her own party’s MPAs sometimes.
Therefore, it would be impossible for her to deal with a very charged and aggressive opposition in the shape of the MQM this time.
It would also be the first session when the Pir Pagara-led Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) members would be part of the government completely.
The PML-F had partially been in the government and it had also played its role in the opposition simultaneously until the MQM parted ways with the ruling party.
The PML-F members would now sit on the treasury benches, whereas the MQM members would replace them on the opposition benches.
The Sindh Assembly Secretariat has formally allotted the opposition seats to the MQM members. These seats are situated on the left side of the Sindh Assembly speaker’s chair.
After formally seeking the opposition seats, the MQM would have to select an opposition leader among its members because the current opposition leader, Jam Madad Ali, is likely to be appointed as a minister now.