Govt to expedite reconciliation with MQM

The coalition government on Monday decided to mend fences with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leadership, as Interior Minister Rehman Malik was directed to immediately head to Karachi to ensure normalcy in the troubled city.
This was decided in a meeting between Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and President Asif Ali Zardari here at the Presidency.
A source told Pakistan Today that the coalition leaders discussed the government’s ongoing dialogue with the MQM leadership and the anti-government tirade launched by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.
The meeting resolved that no political space would be left for the PML-N leadership to exploit the situation and the government would pursue the reconciliatory process with its estranged ally – the MQM.
“The coalition leaders agreed to accommodate the reservations of the MQM leadership. It was also agreed that the Sindh government should remove the reservations of the MQM on the local government system in Sindh. Shujaat asked the president to play his role to bridge the differences between the leaders of various mainstream parties of Sindh,” the source said.