ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party’s offer to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement for joining the Sindh government still stands if they quit the federal government, senior PPP leaders said.
Last month, PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had invited the MQM to join Sindh government after quitting the federal government. He had sought MQM’s help to topple Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. Bilawal’s offer came after MQM convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui had announced to resign as Federal Information Technology minister.
PPP secretary general Nayyar Bokhari said the offer “still stands.” “MQM has a share (of votes) in Sindh and if they want to contribute we are ready to welcome them. The offer (by Bilawal) was made as a goodwill gesture,” he told The Nation. The PPP leader said that MQM should play a role for development of the Sindh province. “They (MQM) are uneasy with the federal government. They may quit the coalition soon. If they quit, they can join us (the PPP-led government in Sindh),” he said.
Bilawal’s spokesperson Senator Mustfa Nawaz Khokhari said that Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf hardly accepts MQM as its ally. “When PM Imran Khan visited Karachi, he did not meet the MQM people. This makes it very clear how much weight the PTI gives to them (MQM),” told The Nation. Senator Khokhar said while the PTI was not giving respect to the MQM, the PPP was ready to accommodate them. “We want to work with them for the prosperity of the Sindh province,” he added. Bilawal had promised that the PPP will provide MQM an equal number of cabinet slots in Sindh as they have in the federal government. “The PPP will stand with you 100%,” he had assured the MQM leaders. “The number of seats you have been allocated in centre, we will give those to you in Sindh,” he said.
MQM is one of the core allies of the federal government and its lawmaker Farogh Naseem still holds the federal ministry for law despite the fact that Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has resigned.
Bilawal said the government had completely failed to deliver. “The President’s House has become a factory of ordinances. This government has denied respect to the parliament,” he said while speaking to the journalists. Bilawal said the people of Sindh were suffering due to suspension of gas supply. “We will have to snatch our share from the government.” The PPP chief lamented that the federal government was not providing Sindh its rightful share in resources and funds. Bilawal declared the PPP cannot “compromise” on the province’s rights”.
“At the same time, we will have to think and come up with a way to expand the scope of our development. How can we work more with less funds,” he said, suggesting public-private partnership to be one way forward to work on mega-development projects.