KARACHI, Feb 18: Thursday night's raids and arrest of some PML supporters of former provincial minister Imtiaz Shaikh, prior to his dramatic late-night sacking by Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim have not only caused a setback to the ruling party but have also exacerbated a power struggle in the province amid speculations about a change of guard.

Apparently the chief minister opted for a pre-emptive strike against his revenue minister accusing him of widespread corruption, without consulting the central president of the party, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who was taken by surprise.

Chaudhry Shujaat apparently snubbed the chief minister by declaring that Imtiaz Shaikh would remain the party secretary-general in the province and that the prime minister's inspection team should investigate charges against him.

At a press conference on Friday, the chief minister spelt out some of the charges against Mr Shaikh which included land-grabbing. Some people he presented before the media did little to strengthen his case. Dr Arbab Rahim contended that after the 'charges' that Mr Shaikh faced there was no moral ground for him to hold the post of party secretary-general in Sindh.

At another press conference, Mr Shaikh denied the charges and appealed to President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to constitute a commission to investigate allegations levelled against him by Dr Arbab Rahim.

In his counter-attack, Mr Shaikh alleged that the chief minister was himself involved in illegal trade, killings and water theft. He said the chief minister's action against him was politically motivated. He said he talked to Chaudhry Shujaat after his removal from cabinet who asked him to continue serving as the provincial secretary-general of the PML.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, an influential partner in the Sindh coalition, appeared to be keeping out of the crisis which analysts said would have far-reaching negative bearings on PML's performance in the upcoming local bodies' elections. They attached importance to former president Farooq Leghari's grievances against the PML leadership regarding assurances given to the National Alliance in power sharing.