KARACHI: Muttahida, Arbab fail to resolve differences
By Habib Khan Ghori
KARACHI, May 23: The fate of the ruling coalition in Sindh hanged in the balance as Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement failed to resolve their differences on Tuesday.
After the coalition parties failed to reach some compromise in a three-hour-long meeting held at the Governor’s House, it was decided that both parties would present their cases before the secretary of National Security Council, Tariq Aziz.
Soon after the meeting, the chief minister rushed straight to the airport to catch a flight for Islamabad where, according to the sources, he had a scheduled meeting with Tariq Aziz, and the ruling PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
Tariq Aziz, who two months earlier had succeeded in brokering an understanding between the two coalition partners over similar differences, was reportedly in touch with Altaf Hussain in London over the brewing crisis as the MQM had refused to continue with the chief minister.
At the meeting, the Muttahida team comprising provincial ministers Adil Siddiqui, Shabbir Ahmed Qaimkhani, Syed Sardar Ahmed, Rauf Siddiqui, and M.A Jalil was led by Dr Ishratul Ibad, while Dr Arbab Rahim was assisted by his cabinet members, Syed Sadaruddin Rashidi, Nadir Akmal Leghari, and Irfanullah Marwat.
According to the sources, the chief minister during the meeting came hard on the MQM-led city government for razing old villages and katchi abadis in Karachi which had created disharmony between Sindhi and Urdu speaking population in the province. He also cited the appointments of various police officials made by Sindh Home Minister without taking him into confidence.
Sources said that the chief minister termed the MQM’s decision not to attend the assembly session ‘a wrong step’ and observed that if the former had any differences with him, they could have been resolved through dialogue.
MQM ministers rejected the chief minister’s contention regarding demolition of goths in the city insisting that the action had been taken against the land mafia on the orders of the courts.
They were of the view that when the coalition government had been formed after 2002 general elections, it was decided that the chief minister would not interfere into the affairs of the MQM ministries. However, they said that when Dr Arbab Rahim came into power he started issuing directives directly to the secretaries without even informing the ministers concerned, which was violation of the agreement, sources said.
According to the sources privy to the meeting, MQM ministers criticised the chief minister for not lifting ban on fresh recruitment in the province saying a decision to this effect had been taken by the cabinet a year ago, but no official directive had been issued so far by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
Sources said that MQM ministers also blamed the chief minister for withholding the summaries of the different ministries for the last two years.
The main differences between the two, according to an interview of MQM Overseas Convener Muhammad Anwar given to a private TV channel, included failure of the chief minister to take his coalition partners into confidence, violation of the agreement reached with the MQM during his London visit soon after his induction.
Earlier in March when the differences had surfaced and the split was seen inevitable, both were summoned by President Musharraf to Islamabad. But before the meeting, Tariq Aziz and Prime Minister had held separate meetings with the MQM and Dr Arbab Rahim. Tariq Aziz succeeded in pacifying both sides before their meeting with President Musharraf for the time being until senate elections.
For ensuring smooth functioning, a joint committee was also formed comprising two members from each side. They were Irfanullah Marwat and Nadir Akmal Leghari from the chief minister’s side while Adil Siddiqui and M.A. Jalil from the MQM side. The terms of reference of the committee included identification of differences between the two and recommendations for the solution.
However, the situation over sharing of power flared up recently when the City Government of Karachi in its drive against encroachments demolished parts of old goths. The protests against the drive forced the chief minister to come out with a strong statement against razing of any village without his permission. He had also set up a ministerial committee to go through the issue headed by Sardar Manzoor Panhwar.
This added to the grouse of MQM whose ministers were already annoyed over inordinate delay in approval of summaries sent by their departments. This provided the ground for the MQM to show its dissent by boycotting the assembly session, which ended on Monday.
Talking to newsmen before leaving for Islamabad on Tuesday, Chief Minister Arbab Rahim said there were some “misunderstandings” between him and the MQM ministers, which had been resolved. However, he declined to elaborate the “misunderstandings” saying it was not the right time and place to discuss these issues.
He admitted that he was going to meet Tariq Aziz and PML-Q chief Chaudry Shujaat Hussain in Islamabad to discuss the issues. “I have no differences with the MQM ministers. If they have any, you better ask them about that,” he remarked.
About lifting of ban on fresh recruitment, the chief minister said that there had been no ban on the recruitment, but all the ministries had to prepare comprehensive proposals for fresh recruitment. “If any ministry prepares the proposal, I won’t have any objection to grant permission for recruitment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Federal Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Ghouri, a senior MQM leader, denied that all the issues had been resolved mutually.
“We have discussed the issues, but they need to be discussed further,” Mr Ghouri said adding that a MQM delegation would soon meet Tariq Aziz and would inform the party’s coordination committee about the outcome of that meeting. The coordination committee would take the final decision in this regard, he maintained.
“We do not have any personal rivalry with the chief minister. We always talk about the public issues because if people are not satisfied with the government performance that means the government is not moving in the right direction,” he observed.
Meanwhile, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad on Tuesday said that it was the first time that a coalition government in Sindh had survived for such a long-period and hoped that it would complete its remaining tenure, adds PPI.
Talking to newsmen, he said that the coalition government was formed under a pact and by implementing that pact positive results could be achieved. He said that the provincial government could be strengthened by ensuring implementation on those matters agreed in the pact. He said that in this way the fruits of uplift works and other efforts could reach to the masses.
