KARACHI, March 17: Pir Mazharul Haq, the designated parliamentary party leader of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians in the Sindh Assembly, rejected on Monday reports of the formation of a forward bloc in the party and vowed to keep it intact even after the formation of government.
He said this while speaking at a press briefing held after a parliamentary party meeting here in a hotel.
The meeting of the PPPP’s parliamentary party in the Sindh Assembly was held amid report of formation of a forward bloc. Eighty-two MPAs-elect of the PPP were present at the meeting while chief minister-designate Syed Qaim Ali Shah joined the press briefing after arriving here from Islamabad. Rejecting the reports, Mr Haq said the party enjoyed the support of 91 MPAs, including two belonging to the Awami National Party (ANP), who were also present at the parliamentary party meeting.
Answering a question, he said the party would not split in case Makhdoom Amin Fahim was not nominated prime minister.
He demanded that the Sindh governor and caretaker chief minister immediately summon the inaugural session of the provincial assembly.
The parliamentary party meeting began about two hours after the scheduled time, as the leadership was contacting each member to ensure his/her attendance at the meeting.
Sources told Dawn that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari took strong notice of a report of an impending forward bloc in Sindh and directed the designated parliamentary leader in the Sindh Assembly to hold meetings on a daily basis to show the party’s strength and inform the media about reasons behind the absence of any of the members.
During the parliamentary party meeting, the sources said, Mr Haq made it clear to all participants that the party would form a government in Sindh at all costs and it would foil all conspiracies being hatched to deprive the party of its right to form government. “We will not sit on the opposition benches,” a source quoted Pir Mazhar as telling the meeting. He asked all MPAs-elect to inform him about their daily engagements.The sources said that in an attempt to reject reports of a forward bloc, Mr Haq invited MPA-elect Makhdoom Jamiluzzaman, the son of PM-hopeful Amin Fahim, to address the meeting. He said there should be an effective check and balance on future members of the Sindh cabinet.
Briefing newsmen, Mr Haq said the joint parliamentary party meeting of the PPP-ANP demanded that the governor and the chief minister ask the president to immediately call an assembly session, as through an amendment the first session of the provincial assembly would convene on a date specified by the president.
He said the meeting criticised the caretaker government for working beyond its mandate and giving thousands of jobs to people of its choice. “We demand the immediate annulment of all such recruitments, otherwise the new government will constitute a committee and terminate all such employments,” he said.
However, he maintained that no one would be fired unlawfully and in case of any complaint the next government would also take action against those employments given by the Arbab Ghulam Rahim-led government.
Mr Haq said a 10-member committee was also formed during the meeting which would give recommendation on future legislation.
Answering a question on the forward bloc in the former ruling party, he said that no one from the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) had contacted the party leadership but any decision in this regard would be taken by the top party leadership.
