KARACHI, Nov 6: All efforts to form a coalition government in Sindh, for the time being, appear to be stalled as none of the three main parliamentary groups in the National Assembly has succeeded in mustering support to claim a simple majority in the House.

And now when the date for the meeting of the National Assembly has been advanced by one week on the request of the parliamentary leaders, the aspirants for the top office in the provincial government have almost withdrawn from the scene and started lobbying for their candidatures in the quarters that matter very much when it comes to formation of a government.

For all practical purposes, political circles close to powerful quarters maintained that formation of government in the province depended on what setup was going to be installed in the centre.

It has remained a practice that any party which forms a government in the centre leaves no stone unturned in imposing its own government in the provinces, even where its opponent party enjoyed a majority.

However, when one of the leaders of the Muttahida Majlis-i- Amal in the province was asked about the outcome of their recent talks with other parliamentary groups in Sindh Assembly, his response was not so encouraging and he appeared to be dejected over the developments taking place in Islamabad.

Although talks were being held with all groups, but nothing has been firmed up yet, political circles said and pointed out that “at the moment, every thing appears to be shaky and uncertain as the leaders who had been accusing the government of using delaying tactics in calling the session of the Assembly, have unexpectedly requested the President to advance the date of the meeting, which was scheduled for Friday.

The reported behind-the-scene ongoing talks between the PPP and the government, despite repeated denial by the former, have gained ground. This progress in negotiations has not only delayed the announcement of the accord reached between the PPP and the MMA for setting up the federal government led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, but has also resulted in advancing the date of the first session of the National Assembly.

This development, which was unforeseen, has also provided the PML (Q) leadership more time to make assessment if they could win over the PPP or the MMA to their side for formation of government or work out a strategy to lead a national consensus government with other major groups, and if the latter strategy is materialized in the centre, it would also facilitate the military rulers not only to get the Legal Framework Order adopted with some minor adjustments, but would also help the regime in lessening the pressure which could be forthcoming after installation of an MMA government in the NWFP, the circles observed.