- Leaders agree to convene huddle of coalition parties to frame strategy
LAHORE/KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday phoned former president Asif Ali Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and discussed with both the leaders the overall political and economic situation.
The telephonic conversation came after the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) decided to mediate between Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) over the delimitation issue.
According to sources privy to the development, MQM-Pakistan has expressed serious concerns over the non-implementation of the agreement signed with the Centre and the Sindh government. They said the MQM-Pakistan has categorically told the PML-N that holding local body elections without new delimitations in Karachi would be meaningless.
The party also complained that the PPP-led Sindh government had not amended the Local Government Act.
The sources revealed that senior leaders from PML-N have contacted PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to convey him the reservations of MQM-P over delimitations.
Meanwhile, the PM discussed with both the leaders the political situation prevailing in Punjab. The three leaders agreed to convene a meeting of the coalition parties soon.
It is to be noted here that Governor Baligur Rehman had de-notified Pervaiz Elahi as the Chief Minister of Punjab for not taking the vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly a few days ago.
Pervaiz Elahi had challenged the governor’s order in the Lahore High Court (LHC). During the hearing of his petition, Pervaiz Elahi had assured the court in his undertaking that he would not dissolve the Punjab Assembly till the next hearing of the case.
The court fixed the date of the next hearing of the case on January 11, 2023 (after the high court vacations) and got written assurance from Elahi that he would not dissolve the assembly till the next hearing in LHC.
Outrage over Bilawal’s speech
Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui expressed outrage over the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) attitude regarding the delimitations of Sindh local government (LG) polls.
An emergency meeting of the MQM-P Rabita Committee meeting was chaired by Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui in which the convener expressed outrage over the PPP’s stance over the delimitation of Sindh LG polls.
In the meeting, Siddiqui sought recommendations from the Rabita Committee members. The RC members also asked PPP to clarify its position on Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s speech whether is a political statement or a party policy.
The MQM-P Rabita Committee also asked PPP to clarify whether it wants to address the issues of the urban and rural Sindh or stick to occupying the constitutions via fake delimitation.
The RC members said that the political party will not hesitate to part ways with the ruling alliance if it does not get a satisfactory response from PPP.
MQM-P Demands ECP New Delimitation Before Jan 15
The MQM-P demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to complete new delimitation before the local government (LG) polls in Karachi and Hyderabad scheduled for January 15, ARY News reported on Sunday.
While addressing a press conference after chairing the MQM-P Rabita Committee session, MQM-P convenor Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that his political party and the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) signed an agreement to address Sindh issues.
Siddiqui clarified that MQM-P is fully ready for LG polls and its leadership thinks the elections are being delayed. He continued that all sides are demanding transparent elections in Pakistan.
He said that the PPP central leadership had accepted all demands of the MQM-P. He added that it was decided to address the issue of flawed delimitation in Sindh as a top priority, whereas, the Supreme Court (SC) had also directed to address the objections of the MQM-P.
Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that they held dozens of meetings with the ruling PPP for delimitation and the Sindh government assured of addressing the issue and declared MQM-P demands valid.
He said that it is ECP’s responsibility to complete the new delimitation before January 15. Siddiqui said that MQM-P is ready to assist the authorities for new delimitation.
“The delimitation of Karachi and Hyderabad was not done in the right way in the past. How can an election be declared transparent when there is no relevancy between the constituencies and the population? Sindh government and election commission must complete the revision of the Karachi and Hyderabad delimitation before the LG polls.”
He also assured the Federal IT Minister to talk about the reservations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Meanwhile, MQM-P leader Aminul Haque said that his party had put forward its stance, and now Center and PPP have to take relevant action.
