KARACHI, Jan 25: Sindh Chief Minister Ali Mohammed Mahar made an attempt on Saturday to break the standoff between his coalition partners, particularly the leadership of the National Alliance, it is reliably learnt.

Sources said the chief minister tried to pacify Sindh Democratic Alliance chief Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh by promising him that he would be inducted into the provincial cabinet as a minister, instead of as an adviser.

Mr Shaikh, reportedly, told Mr Mahar that at the moment a ministerial post was not important to him rather what was important to him was his restoration as an adviser, as it was a prestige issue on which the National Alliance had taken a principled stand.

The parliamentary party of the NA will meet on Sunday where important issues will be discussed. Some of the issues are implementation of the accord reached at the time of formation of the government and interference in the working of departments allotted to the NA ministers. A strategy for the coming assembly session will also be formulated.

Mr Mahar assured Mr Shaikh of taking into account their point of view and hoped that the differences would be resolved with mutual understanding.

The chief minister, who had invited MPAs close to him for dinner at the Chief Minister’s House on Saturday night, to discuss the increasing gulf with the NA group over the denotification of Imtiaz Shaikh as his adviser and its likely impact on the Senate elections. The outcome of the consultation could not be known.

A PPP emissary on Saturday, reportedly, contacted NA leaders Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh and Arbab Rahim to explore the possibilities of their joining hands with the PPP-MMA alliance. If the NA joins hands with this alliance, it will be a group larger than the Mahar-led ruling alliance.

As the party position stands now in the house, if the NA with its 16 members joins hands with the PPP-MMA alliance their combined strength will be 86, and that of the Mahar group’s will be reduced to only 80, as the two independents are likely to throw their weight behind the alliance which will be in a position to form government.

Sources said the PPP expected that if the NA decided to part ways with the Mahar coalition, then the PPP Patriots and the MMA Patriots would be back into the fold of the original parties.