Karachi: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement today said that it would be part of the opposition in the centre and Pakistan's Sindh province as the ruling PPP had not reciprocated its efforts aimed at forging an understanding between the two parties.

The MQM's coordination committee announced the party's decision to sit in the opposition after consultations among party leaders.

The move was also approved by MQM's London-based chief Altaf Hussain. The move came after talks between the MQM and the Pakistan People's Party on forging an alliance at the centre and Sindh broke down.

PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had recently visited the MQM's headquarters in Karachi but his intervention apparently was unable to lead to an understanding.

Addressing a press conference here, MQM deputy convenor and parliamentarian Faooq Sattar said the party's decision had been influenced by several factors, including the approach adopted by the PPP during the talks between the two parties.

Sattar said his party was also opposed to the PPP's decision to appoint police officer Shoaib Suddle as the Inspector General of Sindh as he was allegedly involved in the "extra-judicial killing" of numerous MQM workers.

Though the MQM had expressed its reservations about Suddle, the PPP had informed it that the police officer is a "hero", Sattar said.

The PPP had initially initiated efforts to obtain the support of the MQM for its government at the centre but former premier Nawaz Sharif's PML-N, a key member of the federal coalition, strongly opposed the move.  

The MQM has 25 members in the 342-seat National Assembly and is the second largest party in the 164-strong Sindh assembly with 51 members. The MQM and PPP have traditionally been bitter opponents in Sindh province, particularly in the port city of Karachi.  

Noting that his party will not compromise on its principles, Sattar pointed out that the opposition was also part of a democratic set-up. "No party can be put down with force," he said, alluding to the crackdown on MQM workers by the then PPP government in Sindh in 1995.  

Senior PML-Q Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi welcomed the MQM's decision, saying it would allow the opposition to function more effectively. "We will be a complete force and will be able to check the undemocratic steps of the government in a more effective manner," he told reporters.

Source : PTI