“We will decide whether to make or break this coalition on that day,” said Sindh PML-F President Sadurddin Rashdi. The peeved leader told the media how they are coalition partners and the president had told the provincial government to consult them on different issues. The Sindh government, however, overlooked them. “It seems that the Sindh government has betrayed us in the name of a reconciliation policy,” he added.
The functional league has eight members in the Sindh assembly and after joining the government the party has been allotted four departments. They hold the science and technology, special education, auqaf and mines and mineral portfolios. While the government promised that PML-F ministers would have full authority, the ministers still grumble that that they have neither the power nor the budget to initiate development work.
As far as the local government issue goes, Rashdi said that government did not deliver on their assurances that they would take them into account over the local government legislation. According to him, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and other party leaders want to impose decisions. “They always come to us after making a decision after consulting the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM),” he alleged. “We cannot tolerate this kind of approach by the government.”
It is not the functional league that is dissatisfied with the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) - there has been a deadlock between the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and the PPP over portfolios.
The PML-Q had been entrusted three portfolios - sports, environment and tourism. These were the ministries vacated by MQM members when they resigned in protest over the Kashmir elections. Soon after MQM rejoined the government, their old departments were returned to them. Meanwhile, the government has yet hand over new ones to the PML-Q.
“The government promised to allot new departments to us in lieu of handing over our portfolios to MQM ministers,” said Sindh PML-Q General Secretary Haleem Adil Shaikh. “We are still waiting for their response.”
He said that they would now prefer real powers rather than getting “rubber-stamp” ministries with no real authority.
They feel their orders within their ministries are not followed. In addition, he claimed that the government promised they would speak to them before appointing field staff such as commissioners and deputy commissioners in the province.
Once again, the promises appear to have been forgotten. “We have communicated this to our leadership and are waiting for their response before making a decision,” said the general secretary.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2011.
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