KARACHI:
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh government has once again invited its former ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to become part of the provincial government.
According to sources privy to the development, the Sindh government on the instruction of the PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, has re-established backdoor contacts with the MQM and has offered it a number of ministries including that of commerce and industries.
Sources say both the parties, agreeing to take forward the negotiation process, have constituted a 6-member committee, whose members – three from each party – will be announced soon. They say the parties will start upon formal negotiation by the next week.
According to Daily Express, the former Interior Minister Rehman Malik is playing an important role in the deal, adding that the meeting earlier in the month in Dubai between the MQM delegation and Zardari was in connection with the ongoing negotiations.
There were differences between the two parties on issues including Sindh Local Government Act 2013, new delimitations and Karachi operations. However in the above meeting in which the MQM delegation met the PPP co-chairman in the presence of Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan headways were made towards an agreement, the newspaper says.
According to sources, the PPP had assured the MQM that it would address their reservations in a phased manner and would take the party into confidence over local government system and delimitation process.
Following this assurance, the MQM leadership had had a detailed consultation and later the backdoor channel between the two was revived.
Sources say the provincial leadership of the PPP has been holding talks with the MQM for the last 3 days and that if the MQM joins Sindh government; it will have three ministers and two advisers in the SIndh cabinet. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah is also due to meet Sind governor next week in this connection.
The MQM sources say the party will join Sindh government only after its reservations are addressed. They say any decision will be taken with the consultation of the supporter and workers and after the approval of the leader of the movement Altaf Hussain, adding that so far nothing has been finalised.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2013.
COMMENTS (14)
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NO ,NO , NO , MQM first demand local body elections and directly elected mayor with adminstration and power over police , education transport health like all mega cities in the world exist. Last five years has been a total waste for us true karachiites all the good work done by mustafa lost , PPPhave no desire for the welfare of the people , MQM when ever give power with mandate they have done it proved it , because it believes in merit and honesty where as nepotism is the life line of PPP
@Aysha M: you mean nobody else in the universe can have the same name as yours? great... that is why Farooq Sattar bhai was so furious when he first heard of namaloom afrad in the FIR! please learn to tolerate others as well :)
QUESTIONS MQM THE REPRESENTATIVES OF 98% POOR OF PAKISTAN WILL NEVER ANSWER:
1) What did your voters get out of your partnership for 4 years and 11 months in wadera Corruption Party's alias peoples party last five year provincial government?
2) Why did you not announce the results of the public referendum on re-joining the corruption party wadera government?
3) What would MQM say about around ten million of taxpayers' money spent on the "medical" of his member sardar and another around 7 to 8 million spent on his member rauf siddiqui by corruption party provincial government?
4) Why MQM not observed mourning on the deaths of innocent in Rawalpindi like it observed over the death of innocent in Incholi?
Two corrupt parties agree on everything
@RK: Agree with you and PPP should reconsider their stance on local government
Good Step, Progressive forces in Pakistan should Unite
@Zulfiqar: moderators are supposed to check email add., when one person is repeatedly targetted. It is a moderated site of one of the leading papers
@Aysha M...
This is no facebook or gmail where you are given a specific ID.... hahaha !! :P
PPP's and MQM's agendas and constituencies do not sync. Their alliance will be a marriage of convenience not in the interest of the people but to benefit and enrich the leadership. Their last coalition lasted five years and only saw murder, mayhem, lawlessness, corruption, extortion, and loss of life and limb in all the communities living in Karachi. Only the leadership of both the parties benefited, PPP being the larger beneficiary. MQM knows well that PPP will never agree to local body government since it will have to give money to the local people. It wants alliance to continue be the larger recipient of the loot and plunder of people's money derived from Karachi. If MQM agrees, it will only be to share in that loot and plunder, not to serve its' constituency in urban Sindh.
Let them (PPP) play their roll in 5 years. Then the people will decide who is the best deserving for Sindh to role. If they join they will happyly play their roll in 5 year n in last they will argument each other. As earlier.
Aysha M 19 minutes ago Reply No No No……if we are in government then we cannot BURN DOWN Karachi like we did a few months ago. We like it that way.
Great job ET, what is the job description of your moderators?
MY ID NOT MY COMMENT
NO THANK YOU. We have seen the laziness and corruption of the PPP in the past and present and since old habits die hard, we can expect this rerun in the future. The disastrous law and order situation is due to its craven attitude and indecisiveness on how and where to spend for development of the cities, towns and villages. AGAIN NO THANK YOU. Salams