Four coalition partners to record grievances with PM

ISLAMABAD: Four coalition partners of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) having their own grievances against the federal government will hold another consultative session before meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan to register their complaints with him.

The senior representatives of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) held a meeting with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain two days back and discussed their grievances to be recorded with the prime minister shortly, a participant told ‘The News’.

However, he made it clear that the purpose behind the move is not to rattle or cause fall of the federal government but to politely bring the genuine complaints to Imran Khan’s notice for their removal. They will collectively talk to the premier; he said and hoped that he would take immediate measures to redress them. As many as 18 members of the National Assembly belonging to these four parties including their parliamentary leaders and some federal ministers were present in the meeting.

The participant said that the coalition partners mainly face problems in the provinces they have political influence and were elected from. The MQM-P and GDA, according to him, highlighted that they are in opposition in Sindh where the provincial government is unsympathetic and unfavourable to them, but unfortunately the federal government did not support or come to their rescue. “We have to be backed so that we don’t lose our political standing.”

He said that the BAP leaders told the meeting that the Balochistan government was not consulted while making the federal budget specifically the provincial allocation. They argued that the Balochistan government knows the development priorities of the province well.

The participant said that the PML-Q was confronted with serious problems in Punjab where some unelected figures have reactivated themselves and were interfering in the affairs of the provincial government. He said that a number of members of the Punjab Assembly have also similar complaints.

Besides, the PML-Q has a longstanding grievance of not giving second committed federal ministry to its nominee. It has repeatedly recommended Chaudhry Moonis Elahi for the cabinet and has been skeptical about the delay in his induction. The government has its own reasons not to do so.

However, the participant said that these coalition parties will forcefully press their demands before the prime minister but will not give rise to the problems for him. They will vote for the approval of the federal budget in the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, the PTI has started reaching out to another disgruntled coalition partner -- Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) -- to ensure that there are enough numbers to pass the budget in the National Assembly.

A three-member team comprising Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri and Advisor to the Prime Minister on Establishment Shahzad Arbab has met BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal to sort out the differences.

The BNP-M has repeatedly warned the PTI that it would part ways with the federal government if it did not implement the six-point agenda the two parties had agreed on when they entered an alliance. Mengal has recently been vocal against the policies of the PTI government and seems to be heading towards the opposition camp.