PPP-MQM issues will be resolved within a week, says Wasan

Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Hussain Wasan on Monday said issues between the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would be resolved within a week, predicting that the MQM would join the government. Talking to reporters after a meeting with Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad, Wasan said the MQM would be given the portfolios they had previously held. “We will work jointly.
I hope good results will come out of this.” To a question, he said there had been no discussion about former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza’s statements in the meeting, adding that the meeting had only discussed the law and order in the city. He said maintaining peace in Karachi was the government’s top priority, adding, “Other law enforcement agencies are working with police to maintain law and order in the city.”To a query, Wasan said the bodies recovered on Monday from various parts of the city were three- or four-days old.
Earlier, talking to reporters, Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shah said he had come to Karachi on President Asif Ali Zardari’s orders. He said the army would not be called in Sindh, adding that no government wanted that innocent citizens be killed. “Hurdles between both parties will be wiped out within a short period of time. There are no permanent friends or foes in politics. My party believes in the politics of negotiations. Issues can be resolved through negotiations.” Shah said the deadlock in negotiations with the MQM had ended. Asked about Babar Awan’s meeting with the Sindh governor, the religious affairs minister denied having knowledge regarding the meeting.
Media: Asked whether the ball was in the PPP or the MQM’s court, Shah said, “The ball is in the media’s court,” adding that the situation in Karachi could improve if the media stopped sensationalising the events taking place in the city.