KARACHI: Making it clear that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan has not demanded any ministries, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Saturday that it was up to the MQM-P to join as a coalition partner of Pakistan Peoples Party-led provincial government.

He said this while speaking at a press conference at the CM House.

Replying to a question, he said that the PPP had signed a “working framework” with the MQM-P’s leadership.

Accompanied by his law adviser and Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab and Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh, the chief minister said that the talks between the MQM-P and PPP were held in the presence of their respective leadership.

PPP-Muttahida bodies to monitor fake domiciles, rural-urban job quota issues

“I think this working relationship and understanding between the two parties will prove to be useful for the development of the province and the country,” he added.

Mr Shah said that the constitution of some committees with equal representation of both the parties had been agreed in the agreement. “These committees will monitor the ongoing inquiry into fake domiciles and implementation of rural-urban job quota,” he said.

He said that it was up to the MQM-P leadership if they agreed to join the provincial government. He said otherwise they had not demanded any ministries.

No talks over administrative units

The chief minister said that no talks were held with the MQM-P on the creation of new administrative units in the province.

He shared these thoughts in response to a clause of a similar agreement between the MQM-P and PML-N which stated that both parties recognised the need “for new administrative units all over Pakistan” and a “time frame to create new administrative units in Pakistan in consultation with all stakeholders including MQM(P) shall be agreed upon”.

The CM said: “I don’t think it is going to be that easy to set up new administrative units, though there was a constitutional provision for it.”

He said when the PPP asked the PML-N it said that there were talks of new administrative units in Punjab and Balochistan.

He said that he was in talks held between the leadership of MQM-P and PPP regarding the no-trust motion, but the matter of creation of new administrative units did not come under deliberations.

LG election to be held in May

In a thinly veiled reference to Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid and other Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf minister, he said: “I am sorry to say that those who were making tall claims of creating a forward bloc in the Sindh Assembly and imposing governor’s rule in the province are leaving with their tails between their legs,” he said.

“Sindh is the only unit in the country having a politically stable government, which further strengthen [after accord between PPP and MQM-P],” he added.

In reply to a question regarding the replacement of city administrator, he dispelled the impression of Murtaza Wahab’s replacement.

He said that the local government elections would be held in the province in May.

He added that the PPP would not forge any electoral alliance with any party in the upcoming LG polls.

Constitutional crisis

CM Shah said that some federal ministers just to create a constitutional crisis in the country were mixing up the definition Article 95(4) and Article 94 to make a way out for the prime minister to continue even after losing the majority vote in the National Assembly.

“Under Article 95(4) of the Constitution the prime minister shall cease to hold office if the no-confidence resolution is passed by majority of the total membership of the national assembly, therefore the president cannot ask him [PM] to hold office till the election of new prime minister,” he said and added that under Article 94 of the Constitution the president may ask the Prime Minister to hold office until his successor enters upon the office of the prime minister when the prime minister resigns.

He said that the prime minister and his team were bent upon creating a constitutional crisis in the country just for achieving their personal interest of clinging to power.

Mr Shah lamented that the PTI minister was frightening the MNAs of ‘shame walk’ by crossing a crowd of over 100,000 people for casting vote. “They have also given calls to their workers to block roads and avenues to create a serious crisis in the country,” he said.

He added they were playing with fire and making themselves liable to be charged with Article 6 of the Constitution.

Slams attack on Sindh House

The chief minister condemned the attack on Sindh House in strong words. “It was not an attack on a building, but it was an attack on the province of Sindh,” he said and lamented that the Islamabad police had badly failed to stop it.

He urged inspector general of police-Islamabad to deal with this case of attack on Sindh House as they had dealt with the PTV attack case.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2022