KARACHI: Khidmat group exposes Sindh coalition’s weakness
By Habib Khan Ghori
KARACHI, May 21: Formation of the ‘Khidmat Group of Sindh’ in the provincial assembly by a an offended group from within the coalition indicates that all is not well in the provincial government despite amassing of an army of ministers, advisers and special assistants. The coalition team has already soared to 40 members — 20 ministers, 15 advisers and five special assistants — with the slot of health minister still to be filled.
The newly-formed group is led by Sultan Khuhawar, who hails from Larkana and has returned to the assembly as an independent candidate in the October general elections. He had defeated PPP candidate Ghulam Akbar Magsi in PS-40 Larkana-VI — part of the National Assembly constituency that is a stronghold of Bhutto family for the last 32 years.
Mr Khuhawar was promised a slot in the cabinet as a reward for his joining the PML-Q when the party leadership was desperately enrolling like-minded groups within the assembly in its efforts to ensure its own man in the driving seat. For this very purpose, PML-Q with only 18 MPAs in a House of 168 made commitments with so many members offering them due share in the cabinet, insiders claimed.
Pakistan Peoples Party, which had emerged as the single largest party in the elections and had 68 MPAs, failed to make timely moves and decisions to avail the opportunity, losing the office of the chief minister to its rival alliance.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement, with 41 MPAs, emerged as a major partner in the coalition after joining hands with PML-Q in its bid to bridge the gap between people of rural and urban areas of the province.
Chief Minister Sardar Ali Mohammad Mahar, being naive as far as the political culture in the province is concerned, tried his best to appease everyone by allocating portfolios in accordance with his group’s weight. Yet, the coalition partners kept on harbouring grievances and made them public of and on.
The Khidmat Group of Sindh is in addition to the Sindh Democratic Alliance which used to make waves on every eve of the visits by president and prime minister to the province. However, in its outburst the group never made any adverse comments against CM Sardar Mahar. It restricted its criticism to the government’s performance and writ of the law, with particular reference to Karachi situation.
They group had reservations on allotment of portfolios also and according to Irfanullah Khan Marwat, “90 per cent of the chief minister’s commitments have been fulfilled and they are looking towards the rest to be materialized.”
The main complaint, made this time by its new chief Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi of National Peoples Party, pertains to the need for activating the political committee of the cabinet to resolve internal fissures.
Likewise, within the PML-Q’s old guards, there was a group reportedly backed by the Secretary General of the party’s Sindh chapter, Capt Haleem Siddiqui. This group, despite having its own cheif executive of the province, feels itself betrayed as the Muttahida was given an upper hand.
All the three groups have one thing common. They claim that their outbursts, whenever resorted to, were not aimed at undermining the interests of the Mahar government which, according to them, has failed to deliver in five months in office.
However, when the KGS leader, Mr Khuhawar, was asked as to why had he chosen the eve of prime minister’s Sindh visit for the formation of his group, he dispelled the impression that his motive was to blackmail the government for a portfolio, a plot or permit.
“The sole purpose of the group is to see that people should be provided relief by solving their problems like water, law and order, closed schools and factories and employment opportunities.” he said.
Some of the cabinet ministers, when approached, divulged on condition of anonymity that there was a general discontentment in most of the cabinet members about the performance of the government as no file appeared moving and the day to day work, being taken to the tables of ministers, was not being done.
The question is: if they are not after the Mahar government, then whose purpose are they serving by accusing the government of being impotent and inefficient?
