The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led Sindh government has decided to allot portfolios of Transport and Planning and Development (P&D) to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), who again rejoined the government after 99 days of separation, Pakistan Today has learnt.
After MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s announcement of rejoining the federal and provincial governments, the MQM ministers reached their offices and held detailed departmental meetings in their respective offices. However, MQM’s Raza Haroon and Sheikh Muhammad Afzal – whose portfolios have been allotted to other coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) – did not attend their offices.
Well-placed sources in the Sindh government told Pakistan Today that the MQM has been demanding major portfolios of Home Affairs, Transport, Works and Services, (W&S) and P&D for a long time and the PPP leadership has finally succumbed to their demands.
The P&D portfolio is now under the chief minister after the removal of adviser Kaiser Bengali while the W&S portfolio has been vacant since the resignation of PPP leader Dr Zulfiqar Mirza.
Interestingly, the transport portfolio was also taken over by the chief minister recently from his own party member Akhtar Jadoon, citing ‘numerous complaints’ against the latter.
The sources disclosed that the MQM has nominated Raza Haroon for the P&D slot and he is likely to take over the responsibility shortly. The MQM leader was earlier the Sindh Information Technology Minister; however, the portfolio is now with PML-F’s Imtiaz Shaikh.