KARACHI: The MQM has reached a decision to sit on the opposition benches following a week of failed dialogue between MQM leaders and the PPP. The coalition has lost a further 25 seats in parliament with the loss of the MQM.
The decision was taken by the MQM’s Coordination Committee in a meeting held simultaneously in Karachi and London. Ahmed Jung, reporting for Express 24/7 confirmed that this decision was the third part of the MQM’s move to distance itself from the government.
President Asif Ali Zardari had personally led talks with the MQM in a last-ditch effort which failed to bring the Muttahida back into the fold. Interior Minister Rehman Malik – the party’s chief mediator – had earlier failed to achieve a breakthrough after Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza claimed the MQM was involved in violence in Karachi.
“The MQM would not wish to be part of the current government which has taken unpopular decisions such as the recent petrol price hike” said analyst Dr Hasan Askari. “This [price hike] was a bad decision on the government’s part and the MQM has cashed in on it.”
The MQM’s decision to distance itself from the current government follows the recent decision of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazlur Reman (JUI-F) to quit the coalition.
