April 03, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1429

KARACHI, April 2: The exceedingly warm and conciliatory tone adopted by the Pakistan People’s Party’s designated parliamentary leader in the Sindh Assembly, Pir Mazharul Haq, towards the Muttahida Qaumi Movement made it quite clear at a press conference on Wednesday that the two parties might be close to a power-sharing agreement in the province.

“After the October 18 blasts, they (MQM) came to Bilawal House and we are reciprocating. If the politicians of the subcontinent could work with the British after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, perhaps the most brutal of our history, then maybe we can forget as well,” he said, referring to the bitterness that has characterised provincial politics in the past. “It is time to move forward and bury our egos for the sake of the country,” he added, when asked to comment on PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Karachi and the PPP’s overtures towards the MQM.

Pir Mazhar was speaking to journalists in the committee room of the Sindh Assembly.

“After Oct 18 there was a need for unity between political forces. Otherwise undemocratic forces, through divide and rule policies, would take over, as they had in the past. The era of accusations is behind us. We are trying to create a new era of tolerance. It is the will of the people. If you recall, Nawaz Sharif had called for a boycott of the polls from the platform of the APDM. But Benazir Bhutto convinced him and a bitter pill was swallowed,” said the Pir.

“If we keep citing body counts, this caravan will go nowhere,” he added.

However, Pir Mazhar was not as charitable towards the Pakistan Muslim League-Q when a questioner suggested that if the PPP was willing to share power with the MQM, would it consider the same with the PML-Q. “The Q-League is not a political party. It is a collective of opportunists. These types exist everywhere. They have always supported undemocratic forces,” he said with disdain.

When a journalist pointed out that Nawaz Sharif’s presence in politics, with whom the PPP shares power in the centre as well as in Punjab, was also the product of a military ruler’s machinations, Pir Mazhar answered diplomatically.

“It is true that Nawaz Sharif was not a politician. He was brought to the fore by the military. But he is now a politician. He has served time in jail, he’s been in handcuffs. If we criticised him in the past, we have all learnt and grown over the past 15 or 20 years,” he said.

He mentioned that the PML-N has declared that whatever happens in Sindh as far as government formation is concerned it is the PPP’s business as the former holds no seats in the Sindh Assembly.

When a questioner asked if the PPP would confront the MQM over allegedly exploiting the urban-rural divide by not allowing citizens of rural Sindh to apply for jobs in Karachi, he said that “all options are open. Karachi belongs to everyone.”

Assembly session

Before taking questions, Pir Mazhar said that as per the schedule, the MPAs-elect would be administered oath on Saturday, April 5, while the nomination papers for the speaker and deputy speaker would be filed on the same day. Scrutiny will take place on Sunday, April 6 while elections for speaker and deputy speaker will take place by secret ballot on Monday, April 7.

He said that mirroring the prime minister’s actions, the first resolutions to be put forth would be to declare Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s death a ‘judicial murder;’ name a district after assassinated leader Benazir Bhutto and ask the federal government to launch a UN-administered probe into Ms Bhutto’s murder.

Information minister

Earlier in the day, federal Information Minister and PPP leader Sherry Rehman arrived in Karachi and was greeted by a large number of party supporters at the airport.

A party spokesman told Dawn that Ms Rehman was supposed to address reporters at the airport, but as the crowd was too large and things got out of hand, she later on addressed a press conference at Bilawal House.

According to APP, Ms Rehman told reporters that though there would be a process of accountability regarding the perceived misdeeds of the last administration, “we do not believe in a political witch-hunt.”

She added that if the public sought answers about any irregularities committed either by the past government or the current one, the Truth and Accountability Commission, Public Accounts Committee or Finance Committee could be used to conduct proper inquiries.