KARACHI: Progress has been made in a meeting between the PPP and the MQM leadership, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said while talking to media men outside the Bilawal House.
He said the MQM is with the government and shall remain with it and the government desires that the reservations of the Muttahida are removed. A meeting was held in which Malik and Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad were also present. A similar meeting was also held on Tuesday.
In their presence, President Asif Ali Zardari had a telephonic conversation with MQM chief Altaf Hussain and this conversation was held in a very cordial atmosphere. Zardari holds Altaf Hussain in high esteem and Altaf also holds the president in high esteem, the minister said.
Malik said President Zardari has directed that all the reservations of the MQM should be addressed and should be resolved one by one. The ties between the Muttahida and the PPP are very strong, and will remain strong and grow further in the days to come, the minister said. He told the media men that everyone desires that Karachi remains peaceful
Earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari said that the reservations expressed by the government’s coalition partner, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, were being addressed as the PPP’s policy of reconciliation and taking on board all stakeholders will continue as before.
The president also advised Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah to convey this to everybody that they should strictly follow the party policy and ensure that no party leader and minister publicly criticised any of the coalition partners.
President Zardari, who chaired the meeting of the PPP ministers, advisers and MPAs of Sindh at the Bilawal House here on Wednesday, also held a separate meeting with the chief minister Sindh and advised the party ministers, legislators and leaders to refrain from issuing hostile statements against the coalition partners.
This was the first official reaction of President Zardari after the political turmoil started with the resignation of two federal ministers of the MQM. Sources said President Zardari assured the Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad that the grievances of the MQM would be addressed, especially about the remarks passed by Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza. He assured the Sindh governor that he wanted to end all misunderstandings of the MQM.
According to sources, the president said the statement of Zulfiqar Mirza against the MQM was in his personal capacity and if the MQM wanted action, it would be taken against him. Briefing journalists about the meeting, spokesperson to the president said Asif Ali Zardari also said that the PPP legislators and ministers should refrain from issuing hostile statements against the coalition partners. He expressed the hope that the misunderstanding between the coalition partners will soon be resolved.
The president said that general elections will be held on time after two years and asked the party legislators to be ready to face the voters when the time comes on the basis of their performance while in office.
The president called for a questionnaire to be sent to all MPs to answer questions about what each legislator had done for the people of his or her constituency, the bottlenecks encountered and the unfinished projects during the last three years.
Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza briefed the meeting about the law and order situation in the province, particularly in the rural areas, while Irrigation Minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo gave a briefing on the flood relief measures in Dadu and other districts.
The president directed the home minister to step up efforts aimed at improving the law and order situation in the province and to keep him posted about the progress made. He also directed the relevant agencies to provide APCs and helicopters to the Sindh Police on priority basis for improving the security in interior Sindh.
He said the APCs and helicopters should be used to cover all thanas in the Katcha areas of the province. Sources said the president asked every MPA and minister individually about the situation in their respective constituencies and development work and directed them to spend more time in their constituencies and remain in contact with the people.
Sources assured the MPAs and ministers who were perturbed by the political situation, especially after the MQM’s stand, that there was no threat to the government and the PPP would complete its five-year tenure.
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