PESHAWAR, Aug 4: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) has decided to give representation to its other members on the provincial cabinet and induct ministers from among them.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the MMA provincial council here on Monday, Jamaat-i-Islami’s provincial chief and MMA’s vice-president Senator Mohammad Ibrahim said the six-party alliance had decided to induct more ministers in the cabinet. The MMA central leadership would make an announcement in this regard shortly, he added.
He said the MMA council expressed its satisfaction over the provincial government’s overall performance. However, it failed to conduct affairs smoothly owing to some difficulties caused by the remarks of President Pervez Musharraf, interference by the centre and the NWFP governor in the affairs of the provincial government, he observed.
Though the MMA government could not meet the desires and expectations of the general public, it still enjoyed their support. To give them a sense of participation, it was necessary to give them (smaller partners) representation on the cabinet, he said.
Referring to the government-MMA negotiations, he said the alliance leadership had shown enough flexibility on certain issues to save the fragile political system. Now, it was the duty of the government to remove the controversial clauses from the Legal Framework Order, he said.
In reply to a question, he said it was the MMA’s decision to organize a public meeting at the Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi on Aug 14, which had invited other opposition parties to attend it.
It may be recalled that the Jamiat Ahle-i-Hadith (Sajid Mir), Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, Pakistan Islami Tehreek had been urging the MMA central leadership to induct their lone MPAs into the cabinet.
The JUI (Sami), which had two MPAs, was given the slot of deputy speaker, but the remaining three partners were not given representation on the cabinet.
Talking to newsmen, Maulana Amanullah Haqqani, a JUI MPA from Peshawar, denied any sort of expansion into the cabinet. He said if the MMA reached an agreement with the federal government, it would give some portfolios to the PML-Q rather than inducting ministers from the alliance partners.