ISLAMABAD Heightening war of words between the ruling coalition partners, namely the PPP and MQM, has compelled President Asif Ali Zardari to assign Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani the task of defusing tension between the two parties and play his role for restoring peace in Karachi. The President required immediate action on the part of the Federal Government to resolve issues lingering on between the two parties during a one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister on Tuesday, well-placed sources informed. Consequently, the PM took the very first step in this direction by making phone calls to both Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah and MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain. According to an official handout, Prime Minister Gilani talked with MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain on telephone on Tuesday evening. He discussed with Altaf the situation created by the provocative speeches made in the Sindh Assembly by members belonging to both MQM and PPP. It quoted the Prime Minister as saying to Altaf that PPP and MQM being coalition partners needed to defuse tension for the sake of peace in Karachi. It further added that Altaf agreed with the Prime Minister to direct his party leaders to restrain from issuing provocative statements, which could aggravate the situation. He said MQM would carry on supporting the Government as coalition partner for ensuring peace and progress in the country. According to same handout issued by the PM Secretariat, later on the Prime Minister also rang up the Chief Minister of Sindh and asked him to direct the provincial ministers and party members to restrain from issuing any provocative statements against their coalition partners. The Chief Minister informed the Prime Minister that as per his earlier instructions, he was going to meet the Governor right then to discuss means to resolve the differences between provincial leaders and workers of both the parties. According to the handout, the Chief Minister also told the PM that a formal meeting on law and order was also scheduled for February 4 to deliberate upon issues in detail.