KARACHI, Dec 1: Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, the parliamentary leader of the PPP Parliamentarians in Sindh Assembly, held talks with Pir Pagara, chief of the PML-F, and Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, chief of the National Alliance, on Sunday.
Mr Khuhro’s negotiations with the two leaders, held at their residences, were aimed at seeking support for the PPP to form a coalition in the province.
Earlier, PPP leaders also held meetings with leaders of Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal to muster support for a PPP-led government in Sindh.
Political circles in the metropolis have termed the fresh meetings ‘significant’ in the wake of reports that the nomination of Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim by the NA as Leader of the House, had become quite controversial. The reports followed remarks by Ghous Bux Mehar, the Sindh chief of the PML-Q and the Federal Minister for Railways, that he would no more be insisting on Dr Arbab’s candidature.
Though the outcome of Mr Khuhro’s meetings with Pir Pagara and Mr Jatoi, as well as the PPP’s parlays with other parties, has not been made public officially by any side, it is reliably learnt that the talks centred on the possibility of a PPP-led government and the stalemate resulting from the repeated postponement of the Sindh Assembly’s opening session.
Mr Khuhro, who is yet to be officially nominated for the top slot in the Sindh Assembly, has mounted his efforts amid moves by ‘interested quarters’ to field some other candidates from within PPP as Leader of the House. In this regard, Makhdoom Jamiluz Zaman, son of Makhdoom Amin Faheem, who is chief of the PPP Parliamentarians, is being tipped as most favourite.
At his meeting with Mr Jatoi, Nisar Khuhro accompanied Naveed Qamar. Other National Peoples Party (NPP) leaders, Syed Zia Abbas, Murtaza Jatoi and Arif Jatoi, joined in later.
Since the second postponement of the assembly session on Nov 27, this was the first meeting between the top leadership of the PPP and NA.
The inaugural session of the assembly was scheduled to be held on Nov 25 but put off for three days apparently to allow more time to the parliamentary groups to ensure a simple majority for any of them.
The GNA candidate, Arbab Rahim, made an 11th hour appeal to the governor to postpone the session again when he felt that the GNA would not be able to prove its majority in the House. As the governor accepted his request, nearly all the other groups, including the PPP, expressed outrage over the postponement.
Eventually, the PPP intensified its efforts with renewed enthusiasm. Mr Khuhro, it is learnt, presented his party’s point of view to Mr Jatoi and contended that it was the PPP’s legitimate right to be invited first to form a government because it had emerged the single largest party in the province. He reportedly told the NA leader that the same was done in other provincial assemblies.
Mr Jatoi agreed with Mr Khuhro that democratic process in Sindh should be allowed to take its course smoothly like in other provinces where elected governments had already taken up their rightful positions.
Mr Jatoi, however, declined to make any solid commitment to Mr Khuhro “until the alliance takes a final decision about the candidate for the office of the chief minister,” sources close to the Jatoi House revealed.
Political circles observed that the support of 16 NA members-elect would make no positive change in the PPP’s position in the House. They were of the view that the PPP would still need support of at least one major group from among the PML-F, MQM and MMA for a smooth sailing.
With PML-F having reserved its candidate, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, and the MQM its own candidate, Syed Sardar Ahmed, PPP seems isolated on the question of a consensus candidate for the office of the chief minister.
Even MMA has laid down its conditions for extending support to the PPP.
