A PPP leader told the reporter that the President had “admonished” Mr Mirza in the presence of other party leaders for his outburst against the MQM. – File Photo

LAHORE: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F are reported to have decided to work ‘in unison’ to exert maximum pressure on the PPP for acceptance of their demands.

According to sources, Altaf Hussain and Maulana Fazlur Rahman have agreed to decide jointly whether or not to rejoin the government.

The JUI-F quit the federal government after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani removed its minister Azam Swati for ‘violating discipline’ and upped the ante by demanding Mr Gilani’s removal.

The MQM has announced that its minister will withdraw from the federal cabinet but its lawmakers will continue to sit on treasury benches.

Although PPP leaders and ministers have been saying in public that both the parties will eventually be back (in the government), but some of them are of the opinion that the JUI-F and MQM are quite smart and their leaders know how to make the PPP accept what they want.

“Their joining of hands means the PPP government will have to concede more to win them back,” a PPP leader told this reporter on Wednesday. He said the PPP leadership had been surprised by the way the two parties were playing their cards.“President Zardari and PM Gilani earlier hoped that their men would easily persuade the angry Maulana and Altaf Bhai to soften their stance, but the way they started mounting pressure on the government had bewildered the PPP big guns,” he said, adding that President Zardari had been forced for the first time to consider changing the portfolio of Sindh Home Minister Zulifkar Mirza whose ruthless attack on the MQM had sparked the crisis in the province.

He said that President Zardari had “admonished” Mr Mirza in the presence of other party leaders for his outburst against the MQM.

MQM’s parliamentary leader Farooq Sattar told Dawn that “Altaf Bhai had spoken to Maulana Fazl about cooperation for the sake of political stability and not specifically for an alliance to achieve common goals”. They had arrived at an understanding to work together for the sake of the country.

In fact, he said, the MQM wanted all other parties to work jointly to steer the country out of the crisis that it was facing.

“We are waiting for an action from the PPP leadership, and not mere words, and then we will decide whether to remain in the federal government,” said Mr Sattar who is in London for important meetings with Altaf Hussain.

PPP’s Central Information Secretary Fauzia Wahab said that President Zardari had made it clear that he would not let the MQM and JUI-F part ways with the government.

“This is a storm in a teacup and at the end of the day both MQM and JUI-F will be back in the government. We are in contact with the leadership of both parties and soon we will resolve the issues among ourselves,” she said, terming the demand of Maulana Fazlur Rehman to remove PM Gilani “childish”.

“President Zardari has already declared that in the next elections, Yousuf Raza Gilani will be the face of the PPP,” she said. The involvement of PML-N and MQM in bouts of mudslinging could not have come at a better time for the PPP which believes that the former has given a message to the latter that it (PML-N) would not allow the wrapping up of the present set-up.

“We are happy to see the war of words between the PML-N and MQM as it certainly has eased the pressure on us,” said another PPP leader thanking the PML-N for playing a “democratic role” in the current scenario.