ISLAMABAD, MARCH 20: Karachi breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the city's main political party, announced that it would not break its alliance with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Party, and would continue to be part of the Government.``We have decided on a patch up since outstanding issues have been addressed,'' said Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, MQM leader and Minister in Nawaz Sharif's Cabinet. The MQM leader and Government representatives had a three hour-long meeting before the announcement regarding the patch-up was made.The MQM had announced in an emergency press conference on Tuesday that it was giving the Government 48 hours to resolve the outstanding issues and threatened to break the alliance if it failed to do so.
The main bone of contention between the MQM and the Government is what the MQM calls ``no-go areas.'' These are areas which the MQM alleges are being run by its rival splinter group, the Haqiqi Group. ``There are pockets in Karachiwhere even I cannot go because I will be shot at,'' says Farooq Sattar, an MQM leader and Minister in the Sindh provincial Government.Besides the federal Government, the MQM has Ministers in the Sindh provincial Government. The MQM enjoys overwhelming support in the urban areas of Sindh province.
Political observers say that had the MQM broken its alliance with the PML(N), the law and order situation in the city would have deteriorated considerably. The Karachi Stock Exchange has been in a bad shape during the last couple of days, with the KSE index dropping 61 points. Yesterday, the index appreciated 8 points, when the patch-up report came.
The ruling party's other major coalition partner, the Awami National Party of Khan Abdul Wali Khan, broke away last month on differences with the Government. While the PML(N) enjoys two-thirds majority even without the support of either the MQM and the ANP, Sharif needs the support of parties from smaller provinces to maintain its claim that it is a nationalparty.
Otherwise, the bulk of its support and representation is from the Punjab province.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
