Last-gasp attempt: Malik may fly to London to woo Altaf

Malik meets Governor Ebad in efforts to bring the former ally back into the fold.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik is likely to jet off to London to have a tete-a-tete with Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain and attempt to woo his party back into the coalition fold, sources said on Monday.

Meanwhile, negotiations between the MQM and the PPP continued on Monday at the Governor House following the announcement by the former to sit on the opposition benches in the National Assembly and the Senate.

Rehman Malik, who had flown in from Islamabad, held a one-on-one meeting with Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan following the oath-taking ceremony for Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman. President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath.

The interior minister headed straight to Bilawal House after the meeting and briefed the President about the latest situation. Leaders of both the parties kept mum over the issue as no one was willing to share the outcome of the negotiations.

Sources said that there are strong chances of the interior minister flying to London to have a detailed meeting with MQM chief Altaf Hussain.

Earlier, talking to reporters outside the Governor House, Rehman Malik said that the PPP and MQM have been doing politics under their own manifestos, but reservations of the Muttahida will be addressed soon.

He said it has been of paramount importance to the PPP government to take coalition partner MQM on board for the sake of maintaining law and order and ensuring development of the metropolis.

He added that the parliament will complete its tenure under the leadership of the incumbent prime minister. “Yousaf Raza Gilani is a unanimously elected prime minister ... we know how to use our cards. The PPP does not believe in horse-trading and it knows how to tackle the situation if anyone moves a no-confidence motion against the premier,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2011.