KARACHI: The common goal of grabbing the maximum number of seats for their parties in the senate elections next month has forced Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain to explore the possibility of starting a new relationship with the resolve that “past mistakes must not be repeated” in future.

After the Friday evening talks between the leadership of the two parties, PPP leader Rehman Malik on Saturday expressed the hope that the MQM would soon rejoin the Sindh government and contest the senate elections together with the PPP. The senate elections are scheduled to be held on March 3 when 168 Sindh Assembly members will elect 11 senators — seven on general seats and two each on seats reserved for women and technocrats/ulema — from Sindh.

Based on their strength in the assembly, the PPP with 91 MPAs can alone win six seats, including four general and two reserved seats, while the MQM with 51 lawmakers can secure two general seats. But if the two parties contest the election together, they can win as many as 10 seats and other opposition parties can win only one general seat provided they field a consensus candidate.

In the 2012 senate elections, the two parties had made a strategy to get all the 11 senators elected unopposed. However, this time round, the situation was complicated due to the estranged relationship between the PPP and the MQM.

Keeping in view their mutual political gain, Mr Zardari and Mr Hussain spoke to each other on Friday evening and during the discussion the “senate elections were also discussed to a positive end”.

According to an MQM press release, former president Zardari stressed the need for reconciliation and assured Mr Hussain of an honest implementation of the 60:40 quota for the rural and urban population in all spheres of governance in its essence and spirit in Sindh if the two parties decided to go along again.

They arrived at the conclusion that tranquillity, brotherhood, and harmony within all segments of society was essential for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan in general and Sindh in particular. Both leaders discussed past mistakes and resolved not to repeat them in future.

Mr Zardari assured the MQM chief that genuine grievances of his party would be addressed honestly, and sincerely.

On Saturday, Mr Zardari’s point man Rehman Malik told a private news channel that it was decided in principle that the MQM would soon rejoin the provincial government and both parties would also contest the senate election together.

Mr Malik claimed that he was going to London where he would meet the MQM leadership to finalise all the issues.

However, MQM leader Babar Ghauri said that Mr Zardari and Mr Hussain spoke to each other after a long time and there was a need for more talks between the two parties.

He said that the MQM would inform the media if the party reached an agreement with the PPP.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2015

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