May 27, 2006	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 28, 1427

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KARACHI, May 26: The coalition crisis in Sindh has fuelled all sorts of speculations and rumours in political circles – dissolution of the assembly, governor’s rule, a new chief minister, change of the governor.

Newspapers offices received a large number of calls seeking to know if a change was in the offing, and if so who is going to replace the chief minister and the governor.

However, people close to Dr Arbab Rahim, who is engaged in a tug of war with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, believe that the chief minister may emerge from the standoff as a more powerful chief executive of the province. His refusal to play second fiddle to the MQM and sign all summaries received from MQM ministers has emboldened the lobbies which have been against the coalition arrangement in Sindh.

In Islamabad, Arbab Rahim met Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz along with members of his kitchen cabinet, Pir Sadruddin Shah Rashdi, Sardar Nadir Akmal Leghari, Irfanullah Khan Marwat, Sadaqat Jatoi and Ejaz Shah Sheerazi.

According to reports, Arbab Rahim made it clear to the prime minister that he was not going to accept any demand of the MQM and if he was pressurised to concede he would prefer to quit.

He is also reported to have pointed out that the MQM had, without informing him about its reservations, stayed away from the assembly.

He said that the MQM had not informed him about its grievances and if its problem was delay in the signing of summaries of its ministers, he would not cave in.

The prime minister, however, is reported to have ruled out any possibly of a change in the coalition arrangement in the province. Arbab Rahim’s delegation, it is learnt, plans to meet National Security Council’s secretary-general Tariq Aziz for a third time on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Ghulam Rasool Unnar, who has hosted a dinner on Thursday for former chief minister Sardar Ali Muhammad Mehar, has refused to describe it as a meeting of the Mehar group. He said it was a private dinner for his close friends and had no political undertones. He said that in the present crisis, no-one could think of creating problem for Arbab Rahim.