Love-hate relationship: PPP invites MQM to join coalition in Sindh again

KARACHI:

A delegation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders on Thursday met former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari in the emirate of Ajman, UAE, where the latter has formally invited MQM to join the Sindh government.

Sources privy to the meeting confirmed that Zardari had offered the MQM delegation, comprising deputy convener Khalid Maqbool and Anees Qaimkhani, to make a coalition government in the province, but the MQM has said that its Coordination Committee will decide the matter later.

Discussions are currently underway between the two parties over the upcoming local body elections and the delimitation of Karachi, as MQM has serious reservations over the matter, according to sources.

However, Ameenul Haque, a member MQM Coordination Committee refuted reports of negotiations between the two parties.



“These are just rumours. Our leaders have gone on personal visit and they have not held meetings with PPP leadership,” he told The Express Tribune.

Sources privy to the development added that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had also invited MQM to formally join the federal government, but MQM leaders had sought the time.

“A final decision is likely after the arrival of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” a source said adding that before the Ajman meeting Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan had held meetings with the former president at Bilawal House where the schedule for the UAE meeting was decided.

Earlier on Thursday, former Interior Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Rehman Malik indicated that he would soon visit London to invite Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leadership to join the Sindh government.

Talking to the media at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, on Thursday, he said, “We want to continue [our] friendly relations with the MQM. Both the parties should again join hands in the larger interest of Sindh,” he said.

The two parties were on-again-off-again coalition partners in the federal and Sindh government between 2008 and 2013.

Responding to PPP Patron-in-Chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s speech, in which the latter took a jibe at the MQM by calling Karachi, ‘London’s colony’, Malik said, “Please do not take Bilawal’s statement out of context. It was merely a political speech.”

‘Nawaz misleading nation’

Talking about the prime minister’s visit to the United States, the PPP leader said, “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is misguiding the nation. The US president has not assured him of stopping drone strikes,” he said, adding that drone attacks could only be stopped by using strong diplomatic channels.

However, Malik assured the federal government of his party’s support in fighting against the ongoing wave of terrorism in the country. Referring to terrorist attacks in the country, the PPP leader said Pakistan was facing multiple threats and next three to four weeks were critical.

He also told reporters that the PPP government had also attempted to negotiate with the Taliban, but the Taliban were not sincere about bringing peace in the country.

Regarding the worsening law and order situation in Balochistan he said, “It is now an open secret who is involved in inciting terrorism to bifurcate Balochistan,” he said implying Indian influence in the province.

The former interior minister also appreciated the role of the Sindh government in containing the law and order in Karachi and said the provincial government would further improve the deployment of police and law enforcement agencies to cope with targeted killings, extortion, kidnapping for ransom and criminal activities in Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2013.