Heated debate: PPP stalwarts fight it out

Brawl ends with minister jumping off the first floor terrace, losing consciousness.

GILGIT: Regional Finance Minister Mohammad Ali Akhtar and special assistant to the chief minister Mohammad Musa exchanged blows and hurled abuses at each other at the chief minister office on Friday. The brawl ended with the finance minister falling unconscious, sources said.

The drama ensued after a heated debate between the two PPP stalwarts, which saw the two resort to hurling abuse at each other, said a witness. When words turnd to blows, the staff at the chief minister office intervened and pulled both men off each other.

Musa was forced to leave the room while Akhtar was made to stay. The source said Musa threatened Akhtar of dire consequences while leaving the room, further provoking the finance minister who rushed over and jumped from the first floor terrace trying to grab hold of Musa. A policeman rushed to save Akhtar.

Following the dramatic leap, Akhtar fell unconscious, leaving the staff bewildered.

The chief minister’s on-call doctor immediately provided Akhtar with first aid.

Supporters of the finance minster immediately took to the streets in the Jamaat Khana Bazaar and blocked the roads before the police cleared them out.

Another source said that Mehdi Shah called an emergency meeting of PPP leaders and legislators in his office for damage control.

“The CM was enraged and completely embarrassed because the very public tussle earned the government and the party a bad name,” he said, adding that whether or not the CM would order an inquiry into the situation was still not clear.

Mohammad Musa is the sole member of Gilgit-Baltistan with representation in the PPP central executive committee and the president of PPP Gilgit.

Mohammad Ali Akhtar on the other hand is the president of PPP Nagar, apart from his current portfolio of finance minister. The Express Tribune made several attempts to reach both legislators but their cell phones remained switched off.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2011.