The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)’s country-wide referendum on the question if it should join the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the Sindh government got a resounding “no” from party workers and supporters, sources said on Wednesday.
“Almost 80 percent people voted against joining the government and this was expected,” claimed an MQM member, adding that a majority of the people who voted felt that the MQM’s coalition with the PPP in the last government had severely hurt the image of the Karachi-based party. The MQM conducted a referendum on 21 June, Thursday, to gather views from the party workers and sympathisers if it should join the government, after the PPP formally invited it in the provincial government.
However, officially, the MQM is reluctant to comment on the results of the referendum as yet. The outcome was supposed to be announced a day after the polling, but due to the murder of MPA Sajid Qureshi and his son in North Nazimabad last Friday, it was postponed.
“We will soon declare the result of the referendum, which will also be our decision if we would continue in the opposition or sit on the treasury benches,” said deputy convenor of the party Engr. Nasir Jamal.
Jamal further said that the party was all set to announce the results but the tragic death of the MPA forced them to delay the announcement, adding that the party will strictly go by the people’s choice. “The country-wide referendum was not an exercise in futility. We will make our decision based on the broad spectrum of opinions we gathered though the referendum,” he added.
However, analysts say that the MQM’s decision is likely to depend on the extent to which the PPP would go to accommodate the party in the government. From the treatment of Lyari gangs to the share of city’s development funds, there are a host of enticing issues that can win the MQM’s heart, if only the PPP is ready listen.
The PPP’s opposition leader Khurseed Shah, while talking in a TV talk show on 20 June, had predicted that the MQM’s referendum will be in Sindh government’s favour. Analysts say that this remark is a strong indicator that some solid backdoor negotiations are underway between the PPP and the MQM.