Despite having a strained relationship with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is still keeping its doors open for the MQM, hoping that both parties could be allies again.
According to PPP sources, the delay in accepting the resignations of MQM’s ministers and MQM-backed Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan as well as President Asif Ali Zardari’s immediate notice on Senior Sindh Minister Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza’s statement against the MQM leadership was due to the PPP’s policy of keeping its doors open for its distanced ally.
The electronic media also ran news on Friday about the efforts under way for restarting parlays between the two parties.
“I don’t know about this as the news was run from Islamabad. However, restarting parlays between the two parties is possible,” said PPP leader Waqar Mehdi.
PPP sources told Pakistan Today that President Zardari consulted with his top party leadership on the issue on Friday evening.
The participants of the meeting held at the Presidency included Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Qamaruz Zaman Kaira and Nazar Muhammad Gondal among others.
Mirza had called on President Zardari in the morning. The president had summoned Mirza because of his controversial remarks against the MQM leadership and the consequences of the statement. Zardari strictly restrained him from issuing such statements in future.
According to a top PPP leader in Islamabad, the party leadership has decided not to accept the resignations of the MQM ministers and the Sindh governor for a few more days.
He said that the resignations, especially of the Sindh governor, would be delayed more because of the party’s reconciliatory policy.
According to him, the party still wants the MQM back in the coalition, and wants to give more time to the MQM in this connection.
The Sindh government has still not allocated portfolios of the newly inducted ministers from the Pakistan Muslim League (PML)-Functional and the PML-Quaid in Sindh.
A PML-F leader said that a meeting of the party with the PPP is likely to be held on Saturday on the issue.
It is likely that the provincial government would not allocate portfolios of the MQM ministers to its new cabinet members until a decision on the resignations of the MQM ministers is made.
It is pertinent to mention here that the MQM members have also still not been allotted separate seats in the Sindh Assembly (SA) on their application submitted after quitting the government.
SA Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza had told the MQM members on the first day of the proceedings during the current session of the house that separate seats were not allotted due to pending decision on their resignations.
MQM leader Faisal Sabzwari had not only demanded the government to allot them separate seats, but also asked it to accept their resignations at the earliest.
Why can't Zardari let MQM go? Is he petrified of MQM?
The PPP and MQM are strange bedfellows. MQM when in power was working as an opposition party. I still feel that MQM could not live without being in power. So be prepared by yet another comeback by the legislators with more reward for them.
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