Zardari steps in to save Sindh coalition

With the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) rejoining the Sindh government, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership is facing a quandary as to how to adjust the ministers from the second largest party of the province as most of the ministries previously owned by the MQM have been given either to the PML-Q or to the PML-F and the leaders of both the factions of the PML have warned the government against disturbing their ministers.
Following differences among the coalition parties over the change of portfolios and failure of talks between Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and the PML-F ministers at the CM’s House, the top leadership of the coalition parties accelerated efforts to save the coalition government in Sindh. President Asif Ali Zardari had to step in to save the coalition on Saturday as he asked Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad to play his role to help resolve the complex situation.
“The series of negative messaging by two coalition partners forced Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to seek assistance from President Zardari who also took up the matter with Ebad at today’s meeting and asked him to convey to his party leadership to help him in this critical time as the forces of instability were out there to derail the democratic process,” a well-placed source told Pakistan Today. After the meeting held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the PPP government looked optimistic about resolving the situation amicably through political dialogue.
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon told Pakistan Today that all the hitches developing due to the changing of portfolios would be resolved within the next four days through dialogue with the leaders of the coalition parties. “We are in touch with the political leadership and the Sindh CM will hopefully remove all hiccups within the next four to five days,” he added. However, despite claims by Memon and Siraj Durrani, it looks that the ruling party is facing numerous difficulties to overcome the crisis.
The PML-F leaders were informed by the chief minister a day earlier that their portfolios would be given to the MQM who had rejoined the government. The situation worsened when the PML-F spiritual head Pir Pagaro, at a press conference in Karachi, warned the PPP of leaving the coalition government in case his party’s ministers were disturbed while PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain conveyed a similar message to the PPP Sindh leader Agha Siraj Durrani in Lahore – further pushing the already pressed PPP leadership into a corner.
Pagara told reporters in Karachi that his party had entered into an agreement with President Zardari and not with the chief minister, saying Shah was holding several portfolios and the government would be in trouble if the PML-F left the government.
The source said the Sindh governor assured the president that he would help resolve the situation to save the coalition governments in the Centre as well as in the province.
The source said Shah had suggested the PML-F ministers to resign from their portfolios to accommodate the MQM ministers. However, he added that the PML-F ministers politely refused to entertain the ‘demand’ of the head of the provincial cabinet. The source said ministers belonging to the PML-Q were initially invited to call on the chief minister but following unsuccessful talks with the PML-F, and fearing defiance from the Q ministers, they were asked not to visit the CM’s House.
However, on Friday, the chief minister handed over the Ministry of Human Rights to Nadia Gabol of the MQM. Shah himself is in charge of over a dozen ministries, including Works and Services, Transport, Planning and Development.