THE DECISION of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement to withdraw its support has left Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali as head of a minority government only four days after taking office and on the horns of dilemma in seeking future allies.

The difficult choices for Mr Jamali will be either to bring back the Sindh-based estranged group and still remain unsure about the survival of his coalition or win over one of the two big opposition groups that seek to clip President Pervez Musharraf’s sweeping powers.

The MQM’s announcement on Wednesday that it was withdrawing support from Mr Jamali and its 17 deputies in the 342-seat National Assembly as well those in the Sindh Assembly will sit on opposition benches reduced the ruling coalition’s strength in the centre to 155 from 172 and turned the opposition parties to a 175-seat majority.

But the political sources said the MQM move would not pose an immediate threat to Jamali’s government because he still has 55 days to take the mandatory vote of confidence — within two months after taking office — from the National Assembly.

However, they said any bargaining would bring President Musharraf and his loyalists in the Pakistan Muslim League-Q under more pressure to agree to undo the controversial constitutional amendments decreed by the president to retain his grip on power.

“The (government) boat is really rocking,” self-exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said in an overnight television interview.

But she said her People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) — which is the second largest parliamentary group with 70 seats despite the defection by 10 members behind PML-Q’s 115 — was not interested to bring down Jamali.

“He is already in trouble. Why should I add to his troubles?” She told a private television channel from Dubai, where she has lived with her three children and an ailing mother since going into self-exile in early 1999.

The MQM left the ruling coalition accusing the government of failing to fulfil a pledge made on the eve of the Nov 21 prime ministerial election that the group would be allowed access into the “no-go areas” in Karachi that were controlled by the rival Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi) group.

Mr Jamali said on Wednesday he would talk to the MQM to bring it back into his coalition. “Our door is open for all, and we will continue negotiations,” a seemingly worried prime minister told reporters in Islamabad after hearing about the MQM decision, announced in Karachi.

But political sources said an MQM return to the fold would not give much comfort to Mr Jamali who won the prime ministerial election by just one-vote majority of 172 in the 342-seat House while the MQM also has a history of abruptly leaving coalitions and boycotting elections — which it was sure to win.

Though the MQM’s departure from the government of Benazir Bhutto in 1989 and from a Nawaz Sharif government later mainly over Karachi affairs did not unsettle the two coalitions, its latest move is a potentially a bigger threat not only to Mr Jamali’s government in the centre but also to PML-Q’s chances of forming a ruling coalition in Sindh.

But the president seems to be giving a helping hand to the PML-Q by postponing the Sindh Assembly’s inaugural session for the second time to give his loyalist more time either to win back the MQM or other groups to form a majority coalition in the House where the PPP is now the largest group.

Earlier this month, the PML-Q failed to forge coalition with the PPP and the 58-seat Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal alliance of six Islamic parties because President Musharraf rejected their demands to withdraw his constitutional amendments that empower him to sack prime ministers, dissolve parliament and form an overseeing military-civilian National Security Council to give the armed forces a permanent role in the country’s governance.

President Musharraf has also assumed the previously prime ministerial powers to appoint armed forces’ chiefs and provincial governors, who in turn will be empowered to sack provincial chief ministers and dissolve provincial assemblies.

Both the PPP and the MMA want these amendments withdrawn and Gen Musharraf to give up his post of army chief and seek presidential election as a civilian rather than holding the presidency for five more years on the basis of the controversial April 30 referendum in which he was the only candidate.

Choosing between the PPP and the MMA for an alliance will also be a very hard task for Mr Jamali despite statements by some PML- Q leaders that religious parties were their “natural allies”.

The two opposition forces are sharply divided between themselves over foreign policy, particularly Pakistan’s key role in the US-led war against terrorism that the PPP supports and the MMA opposes, and over MMA’s plans to turn recommendations of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CCI) into law.

The PPP which opposes such legislation and regards CCI recommendations as proposals to which parliament may agree or disagree.

An alliance with the MMA will mean sharing control of the country’s nuclear button with self-proclaimed allies of Afghanistan’s vanquished Taliban movement and Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, which is blamed by Washington for the Sept 11 attacks.

Such a move could put strains on Pakistan’s ties with its Western allies, particularly the United States where newspapers have reported suspicions about the role of Pakistani security agencies and the alleged nuclear links with North Korea that Islamabad denies.

The PPP sources said their party could not join hands with the PML-Q without acceptance of its demands for undoing the controversial constitutional amendments and withdrawal of what it calls politically motivated criminal cases against its leaders.

Relations between the PML-Q and the PPP have been further embroiled by the ruling coalition’s acceptance into its fold of 10 PPP defectors, six of whom have joined the cabinet.

A PPP spokesman said his party was not making an immediate move against what he called “a fragile government”.

“We are just watching because the next session of the National Assembly will be held some time after Eid al-Fitr (due in the first week of December),” spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Dawn . “So far we have not taken any position. The government is fragile and sooner or later it will collapse under its own weight.”

RAMAZAN, the month of self-discipline, is full of vast blessings for mankind. It was in one of the last nights of this month on which the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) received his call and the first verses of the Quran were revealed in the vision of Mount Hira. The verses perfectly reflected the significance and majesty of this blessed night.

“Verily we revealed it on the Night of Power. Ah, what will convey unto thee what the Night of Power is! The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels and the spirit descend therein, by the command of their Lord, with all decrees concerning every matter. It is all peace until the break of dawn.” (Surah 97).

It was the night of majesty (one of the last ten nights of the month of Ramazan) which first witnessed the shining of the light which was destined to illumine the whole world with the advent of first revelation on this grand night. It is clearly indicated that Allah has blessed mankind with the brightest shining light of knowledge and enlightenment to wipe away all darkness, ignorance and degradation.

This night of majesty is a significant night in the month of Ramazan, being the 21st or 23rd or 25th or 27th or 29th night of the month or more probably one of the latter three. In Surah 44:3 it is called the blessed night, In Surah 2:185 it is clearly stated that the Quran was revealed in the month of Ramazan.

“The month of Ramazan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (Furqan), which discriminate between right and wrong”. By revelation, of course being meant its first revelation because the whole was revealed in portions during the span of 23 years; and the word Quran is applicable as well to portion as to the whole. It is for this reason that Aitikaf, or exclusiveness for devotion and concentration in prayers is prescribed for the last ten days of the month.

Undoubtedly this majestic night owes its remarkable significance to the fact that it was on this night that most blessed and perfect of all revelations was granted to the world. Moses fasted for 40 days prior to revelation (Exodus 24:18) and Jesus as well for the same of days before his attainment to Prophethood (Mathew 4.2). This shows that the gift of revelation comes with fasting, hence Muslims are required to fast for 30 days. The Night of Majesty signifies a remarkable magnificence for Umat-i-Muslima. When the whole world was enveloped in darkness and depth of degradation and immorality Allah sent the Prophet with His transcendent message of the glorious Quran. The advent of the Divine message ushered in a new era to establish wisdom and knowledge to dispel all darkness.

The descent of the angels and the spirit also reveal that the night of majesty is of far-reaching influence as Allah sent the Prophet for the regeneration of the world and the angels and spirit came down, from Heaven to fulfil the mission.

It is admitted by all scholars that Shab-i-Qadr is held in significance because if is a night of majesty and grandeur as is the opinion of Imam Zhori. It has not been clarified which is the exact night about which so much emphasis has been laid but the majority of Ulema is of opinion that it is one of the nights of the odd dates from the 20th of the Ramazan. But most of the Ulema placed importance on the 27th night. It is related from Hazrat Aisha that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said that you must find out this majestic night (the shab-i-qadr) in the month of Ramazan, during the last five odd nights, and she also said that the Prophet throughout his life observed Aitikaf (seclusion) during the last 10 nights.

It is generally held that the Prophet did not clearly mention the exact date in order to inculcate the spirit of devotion and prayer among the Muslims, with great confidence and dedication and spend their nights with equal concentration and should not rely on only one night.

Why the Quran has called the Night of Power better than a thousand months (83 years and four months) is because among the Arab poets and linguists word thousand was used to denote a vast number of things and period of time. Hence, the emphasis is meant to convince the people that the devotion to God of the Muslim Ummah during these ten nights will be accounted for vast virtues and piety.

The exact night has not been mentioned by the Quran and the Prophet of Islam in order to make Muslim Ummah continue their prayers every year and not to shun their duties towards Allah for the purification of soul and the enhancement of noble actions. Those who can be deprived of the blessings of Allah during these nights are inebriated people, people who are disobedient to their parents and create enmity and work against Tauheed and brotherhood of Muslim Ummah.

The fasting and prayers in the 10 nights promote real spirit of Taqwa and righteousness in the individual and produce the power to control physical desires. They also lead to submission to the will of Allah and make the Muslims most effective in discipline and evolution of soul.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali has described the significance of this night in following words:

“Blessed indeed is the Night of Power! when the Mercy of God’s Revelation breaks through the darkness of the human soul! All the Powers, of the world divine, speed on their mystic Message of Mercy, by God’s command, and bless every nook and corner of the heart! All jars are stilled in the reign supreme of Peace, until this mortal night gives peace to the glorious day of an immortal world!”