As elections draw closer, the crucial alliance between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) is at stake. Tensions between the coalition partners emerged when the Shirazi group, an influential family in Thatta, decided to leave the PML-Q for the ruling party following months of negotiations.
The family’s decision to join the PPP is to be announced at a gathering organised by the ruling party in Thatta in November.
Party leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is believed to have told the PPP that if a public gathering is held on November 7 as planned, then PML-Q would quit the coalition government.
Hussain further told the PPP, “It was decided that no one will split each other’s people. But unfortunately, PPP has not only started dividing our people in Sindh, but in Punjab as well.”
Sources added that soon after this message was communicated to the ruling party, President Asif Ali Zardari decided to convene a meeting between the two parties after Eidul Azha to address PML-Q’s grievances.
This is the second time in a month that PML-Q’s leadership has expressed its concerns. Earlier, the party was furious when the ruling party decided to appoint Manzoor Wattoo as the PPP chief of the Punjab chapter – the PPP leader has been known to recruit politicians from other parties.
The departure of the Shirazi brothers, however, appears to be the last straw, mainly because of the strong vote bank they hold in their constituencies.
PML-Q Sindh General Secretary Haleem Adil Shaikh said that if the Shirazi family wanted to sever ties with his party, then it should also give up its seats which it contested on PML-Q tickets.
PPP minister Khurshid Ahmed Shah, who has been part of the negotiations with the Shirazi group, told The Express Tribune that they would not let PML-Q part ways with them.
PPP worker woes
The local PPP leadership in Thatta has also protested against the Shirazis’ decision to join their party. “These people had made our lives miserable during the tenure of General Pervez Musharraf. I am not alone, many workers and leaders of our party are not happy with this decision and we have also communicated this to the co-chairman of our party,” said PPP Thatta President Arbab Wazir Memon.
PML-Q MNA Ayaz Shah Shirazi told The Express Tribune, “We decided to join PPP after a long deliberation with its leaders. Since Chaudhry Shujaat has expressed concern we cannot comment at this moment if we will join the party on November 7.” “We will be in better position to give our clear viewpoint after Eid.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2012.
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