Sindh Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani on Thursday said President Asif Ali Zardari had approved March 16 as the date for the dissolution of assemblies, as President Zardari asked Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to contact Dr Tahirul Qadri and ask him to review his call for long march.
The decision was taken in a late night meeting of the ruling coalition at Bilawal House. Sources said that Shujaat urged the Muttahida Qaumi Movement to make its position clear on supporting the long march. The coalition partners, particularly the lawmakers from FATA criticised MQM chief Altaf Hussain over his controversial statements regarding Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
An official statement issued by the Presidency quoted spokesman to the President Farhatullah Babar as saying that the heads of the coalition parties reiterated complete support to the politically-embattled government.
“The coalition partners reiterated their full support to the government,” Babar said, adding that on the top of the meeting’s agenda were the much-hyped long march to be staged by the Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and the caretaker setup in the backdrop of the upcoming general elections.
