Monday, January 17 2005 10:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Altaf Hussain led Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a part of the ruling coalition in Pakistan, has threatened to quit the Government, if Army was deployed in the troubled Balochistan province, where armed nationalists attacked a gas plant last week. "Such a move will not be helpful for the country," Hussain, who is in self-exile in London, was quoted as saying by the local media in Islamabad.

MQM, a Sindh based party with 17 members in the National Assembly, is part of the ruling coalition supporting President Pervez Musharraf. The party is also a dominant partner of PML-Q (Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid-E-Azam) Government in southern Sindh province.

Hussain said that his party couldn't support an Army intervention in Balochistan, where armed nationalists have attacked Government forces and installation, as MQM itself was at the receiving end of such a crackdown in the past.

Reacting to Hussain's threat, Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that there was no plan for Army action in Balochistan and hoped the MQM leader would reconsider his statement.

The withdrawal of MQM could reduce the support for Shaukat Aziz Ministry in the National Assembly, which enjoys a comfortable majority at present mainly due to support from 20 defectors from former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan's Peoples Party (PPP).

"Although we are a coalition partner and it is the responsibility of the Government to consult the MQM on all important issues, including that of Balochistan, it has not been consulted on any such issue", Hussain said.