October 12, 2006	Thursday	Ramazan 18, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz put the feuding PML and MQM across a table on Wednesday for fence-mending but the exercise did not bear fruit, sources privy to the meeting said.

The sources said President Pervez Musharraf at a meeting on Monday had sought such an exercise after hearing about an open acrimony between the coalition partners. The prime minister was asked to try to defuse the tension.

In Wednesday’s meeting, both parties vented grievances against each other but failed to agree on a course of reconciliation.

Both the parties called upon each other to offer apology for the statements given by them against each other and both refused to oblige. However, due to the prime minister’s persuasion, both agreed to avoid issued statements.

The MQM representatives told the prime minister that their grievances with the Sindh government and the centre which led to their minister’s resignations a couple of months ago persisted as the promises made at that time were still not fulfilled.

Reports said that the discussion held between the two parties was of the preliminary in nature and the issue would eventually go to the president.

A delegation of the MQM is expected to meet the president probably on Oct 16 to apprise him about its reservations against the PML president and the Punjab government.