GILGIT: The chief of JUI-F Gilgit-Baltistan said on Thursday that the party will not quit the coalition government of Gilgit-Baltistan unless requested by the party chief.
“We are here to stay unless directed otherwise by our party’s chief,” Maulana Attaullah Shahab told The Express Tribune on Thursday, settling rumours that erupted after JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman’s sudden announcement to end political journey with the ruling PPP at the centre.
Shahab, who is in Islamabad, said that Fazlur Rehman has asked them to adopt a ‘wait and see policy’ until the dust settles down.
Shahab did not deny that the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister and his team were persuading JUI-F to not take a hasty decision. However, he declined to comment on whether the central leadership of his party has closed all options for re-alliance.
When contacted for comments, Chief Minister Mehdi Shah told The Express Tribune that the Gilgit-Baltistan government was confident enough to run the government even if coalition partner JUI-F decides to part ways with it.
“We will have no significant impact as we are already in majority in the assembly,” Shah said.
He added that JUI-F had been favoured in Gilgit-Baltistan for being coalition partners in the government, but they will not stand in their way if they want to stay away.
He said that Fazlur Rehman’s demands have always been met in the centre and he will realise that before making any decisions.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Information Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan Rana Nazeem said that if the JUI-F wants to end the coalition in Gilgit-Baltistan, it should do it immediately without wasting a single moment.
“They should do it immediately,” he said when asked what PPP will do if JUI adopts a similar stand in G-B. He added that PPP had always adopted a policy of political reconciliation.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2010.
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