PESHAWAR, Dec 8: A 17-member breakaway group of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal has unsettled the provincial government with its vigorous media campaign against the MMA policies. The group, led by Mohammad Ibrahim Qasmi, who won the seat as an independent candidate and then joined Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, is determined to pursue its line of action, although its leaders have held talks with the government. Mr Qasmi told Dawn that the group was opposed to what he called ill-conceived and wrong policies of the MMA government.

“We are representing people of different constituencies whose basic needs have to be met. The government has transferred funds to selective districts, which is repugnant to the Islamic teachings,” he added.

He said the government had ignored Peshawar in provincial jobs and even class four employees were being recruited from other districts. He said he had been trying to meet the chief minister and provincial ministers to discuss the problem but they had not been ‘cooperative’.

However, Information Minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai said that four dissatisfied legislators had been in contact with the government and they would meet the chief minister on Saturday. He said it was an internal matter of the alliance which would be solved amicably..

He denied that 17 lawmakers were in the ‘forward bloc’.

He told Dawn that Mr Qasmi and three other legislators had complaints about allocation of funds and delay in execution of development work in their constituencies. He said these grievances had nothing to do with the MMA’s political charter, but concerned minor issues which could be addressed amicably.

But leaders of the group insisted that they had the support of 17 legislators, included some MPAs of the Jamaat-i-Islami and the JUI (F) from Swat, and four, including a woman MPA, from Peshawar.

Recently, s ome assembly staff manhandled the husband of MPA Rukhsana Riaz at the assembly gate. MPAs Javed Momand, Amirzada Khan and others condemned the incident and asked the speaker to hold an inquiry and Ms Riaz joined the group.

The combined opposition in assembly has described the group’s action as an internal problem of the MMA, which would be of no benefit to the opposition.

Nighat Yasmin Orakzai of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League told Dawn that the group had sought opposition’s support in requisitioning an assembly session and legislators of her party had signed the requisition.