Unease in PPP, MQM-P alliance after Imran’s mammoth rally in Karachi
PTI chief Imran Khan's mammoth rally in Karachi apparently shook the foundation of an the PPP-MQM-P alliance.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s mammoth rally in Karachi has apparently shaken the foundation of an alliance between Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P).
Yesterday, Imran Khan addressed a huge public rally in Karachi’s NA-239 constituency ahead of by-polls on October 16.
After his rally, unease was seen in the PPP-MQM-P alliance as Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui-led political party started mulling over parting ways with the coalition government after witnessing a lack of progress on the political agreement with the PPP.
According to MQM-P spokesperson, convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui directed all NA and PA lawmakers to reach Karachi on Sunday.
All senators of the party have also been directed to cancel their engagements and reach Karachi immediately. The spokesperson said that all lawmakers should cancel their engagements and reach Karachi for the emergency meeting.
Sindh governor sponsored huddle
On Tuesday, Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori had chaired a meeting on Tuesday which was attended by leaders of both the PPP and MQM-P leaders to consider changes being made to the Sindh LG law.
A statement issued by the Governor House said that the meeting had made progress on the issue of empowering the municipal agencies of the province in accordance with Article 140-A of the Constitution and directions of the Supreme Court to this effect.
Participants of the meeting reiterated their resolve to amend the provincial local government law for empowering the municipal agencies as per the directives of the apex judiciary. The governor said on the occasion that the provincial local government law should reflect the aspirations of the people of the province.
He said that both the PPP and MQM-P represented the mandate of the people of Sindh and both the political parties should continue to hold consultations with each other to amend the local government law as per the aspirations of the people.
The meeting was attended by former Karachi mayor Wasim Akhtar, former federal law minister Barrister Farogh Naseem and Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Sadiq Iftikhar from the MQM-P’s side, and Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani and Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah from the PPP’s side, The News reported.
Some media reports suggested an agreement between PPP and MQM-P was reached two days ago after a meeting regarding the amendments in the local government (LG) act.
However, a lack of progress led to the end of MQM-P’s confidence in the ruling PPP once again as a scheduled meeting for Saturday was not convened.
Analysts termed it a major political development in Sindh, especially for Karachiites, as both ruling parties failed to make any breakthrough in another round of talks. They said that Imran Khan’s huge public rally added fuel to the fire which made MQM-P think about the future of its alliance.
