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| December 10, 2005 | Saturday | Ziqa’ad 7, 1426 |
Dissidents in MMA put off meeting with Durrani
PESHAWAR, Dec 9: The 17-member forward bloc of the Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal has decided to delay a meeting with the NWFP chief minister till a ‘show of strength’. This was decided in a meeting held at the residence of Mohammad Ibrahim Qasmi, a representative of the faction.
Talking to Dawn, Mr Qasimi said that the forward bloc members held an emergency meeting on Friday, in which six MPAs handed over their resignations to Maulana Mohammad Idrees and empowered him to use them (resignations) whenever he deemed it fit.
He said Maulana Mohammad Idrees, Javed Mohmand, Rukhsana Raz, Khalid Waqar Chamkani and Maulana Mohammad Israr attended the meeting and decided to demonstrate their full strength before meeting the chief minister.
He criticised Information Minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai for saying that a four-member faction could not be called a forward bloc. The minister had also said that the angry members would not oppose the provincial government after their meeting with Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani on Saturday.
Mr Qasmi said their group had decided to prove its strength before holding a meeting with the government. “We have convened a meeting of 17 members to discuss the government’s offer. We have added two more MPAs — Javed Khan Mohmand and Rukhsana Raz — to the main committee which has been empowered to hold talks with the government and the opposition.”
He accused Mr Durrani and his ministers of having never taken them seriously. He said that they thought that the MMA lawmakers were stooges who would not expose their wrongdoings.
He said: “Their (Mr Durrani and his ministers) arrogance knows no bounds. Provincial ministers do not bother to hear us out even regarding serious civic issues. They have made a mockery of democracy and fair play. We are playing a reformist’s role. We want to remind them of their duties.” He said their colleagues would arrive in the city within three days.
Mr Qasmi said that despite their protests, the government had failed to execute even smallest of schemes in their constituencies.
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