KARACHI, May 22: The Sindh ruling coalition came under severe strain on Monday when grievances nursed by the Muttahida Quami Movement and Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim came out in the open, causing rejoicing among the opposition which immediately called for the chief minister’s resignation.

However, the MQM tried to defuse the crisis and the convener of its coordination committee, Dr Imran Farooq, told Dawn from London that his party did not want election of a new leader of the Sindh assembly.

The Muttahida had made its displeasure known by sending only two of its 42 provincial lawmakers on the second day of the assembly session. The same MPAs, Shakir Ali and Faisal Sabswari, had attended the Friday session.

Dr Farooq said the Muttahida Quami Movement took the extreme, albeit democratic, step only when it became abundantly clear that the chief minister was not willing to remove bureaucratic obstacles that stood in the way of development projects. “The chief minister is not willing to remove a ban on recruitment. He is also not willing to consult its major coalition partner over development projects,” he said.

Dr Farooq said the government had not yet contacted the Muttahida coordination committee over the recent political crisis.

Earlier, an irate chief minister told newsmen that he did have differences with the MQM. “But this is no way of protest. They should attend the assembly session,” he thundered.

MQM legislators however, were more circumspect. At a press conference, Sindh Excise and Taxation Minister Syed Sardar Ahmad did his utmost to sidestep questions about differences between the Muttahida and the Sindh chapter of the Pakistan Muslim League, particularly the chief minister.

Dr Arbab Rahim told the house on Monday that no goth in Karachi would be demolished without his orders in the future. He said he got the demolition of the Sikandar Goth stopped when he learnt about irregularities in the government action.