MQM cheif Altaf Husain. – File Photo

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement is holding a crucial meeting on Wednesday to decide whether to rejoin the PPP-led government or play the role of an active opposition at the federal level and in Sindh.

The MQM has summoned its members of the National Assembly, attending the session of the lower house of parliament in Islamabad, to take part in the meeting of its coordination committee in Karachi. Members of the Sindh Assembly, senators and MQM office-bearers will also attend the meeting.

Sources said that MQM chief Altaf Hussain had given the green light to the coordination committee about two days ago to rejoin the government after President Asif Ali Zardari requested him to take back the resignations of his party’s federal and provincial ministers.

However, they added, Mr Hussain asked the coordination committee to hold a meeting and consult the party’s parliamentarians and office-bearers before taking a decision on the issue.

The sources said that the meeting would also discuss the current state of affairs in Punjab where protests against loadshedding had turned violent as well as the law and order situation in the country.

They said that before taking a decision the MQM wanted to make sure that protests being held in Punjab with the support of the PML-N were not driven by any secret dealing with ‘hidden forces’.

In a related development, Senator Babar Ghauri and Raza Haroon of the MQM left Karachi for Islamabad where they are scheduled to hold meetings with the leadership of the PPP and the PML-Q.

Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and the federal and provincial ministers belonging to the MQM had resigned in June after the party decided to sit on opposition benches in protest against the postponement of election on two Karachi seats for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

The PPP government did not accept the resignations and later Governor Ibad withdrew his resignation on the instruction of the MQM chief. Since then, several rounds of talks have been held between the two parties, but the MQM remains undecided whether to rejoin the government or not.