Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday directed a government committee to meet the Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leadership to resolve their grievances after the Karachi-based party received an offer from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to join Sindh government, a private TV channel reported.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday had offered the MQM-P an equal number of seats in Sindh government on the condition that the party will leave the coalition government in Centre and help the PPP oust PTI from power.

A government committee headed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s former secretary general Jahangir Tareen is likely to meet the MQM-P leadership this week on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The committee will review the MQM-P’s demands, hear its grievances on the issue of missing persons and take stock of the party’s demands for Karachi’s funds.

Speaking to a local TV channel, MQM-P leader Khawaja Izhar said his party is ready to accept Bilawal’s offer and join forces with the PPP if it improves the local government system in Sindh. “Our hopes from the federal government are dying as they did not honour their promises,” he said.

In response to Bilawal’s offer, Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar, who is also an important leader of the MQM-P, had said the party will take the final decision on whether it should quit the coalition government or not. He said while the MQM-P and the PPP could ‘sit together’ to solve Karachi’s problems, his party had not joined the coalition government for seats but to resolve Karachi’s outstanding issues. “MQM-P has never indulged in the politics of ministries. We supported the PTI so that Karachi’s issues could be resolved,” Akhtar had said, adding that the Karachi’s problems were discussed with senior PTI leader Jahangir Tareen but the party did not take responsibility.

The MQM-P had also issued a statement on Monday, in which it said that while the party was not satisfied with the PTI-led government’s performance, it will continue to support it.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Tuesday said people have given the mandate to Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf (PTI) and it will resolve problems of the public with the support of its allies. In a tweet, she said the political opponents are trying to find backdoors and steal the political mandate of PTI after getting rejected by the people in the field of politics. She reminded Bilawal Bhutto that the issues of Karachi will not be resolved by breaking alliance of the ruling party but by shunning corruption, loot and plunder. The real issue of Karachi is that for a decade corrupt elements have imposed themselves on the city, she remarked, adding that the fate of Karachi and Sindh will not change until these elements will remain in power. The people of Pakistan broke the political alliance with these elements because of their black deeds, she added.

Dr Firdous said Prime Minister Imran Khan brought the nation together and cleaned the system from politics of bargaining. She said Bilawal will have to prove with real democratic behaviour that he is the heir of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.