MQM-P warns of quitting coalition govt over Sindh governor issue

In a worrying development for the ruling coalition, the Muttahi Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has warned that it will have no reason to support Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration if a unilateral decision is taken about the post of Sindh governor.

Farooq Sattar, MQM-P leader, emphasized that the aforementioned Constitutional role belonged to his party, saying: “It was decided [in meetings] with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that Kamran Tessori would remain governor.”

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Sattar’s remarks come amid ongoing uncertainty about Tessori’s future, after sources told Geo News last week that the PML-N-led federal government had reached an agreement with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which governs Sindh, to replace Tessori with Bashir Memon, the former head of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

However, the rumours did not sit well with the MQM-P, as Tessori doubled down on those circulating such claims, stating that he had the trust of PM Shehbaz, President Asif Ali Zardari, and his own party, and that he would continue to serve the people as long as he remains in office.

“I would tell those behind these reports that I am not the one who gets panicked [by such reports],” according to him.

Meanwhile, Sattar categorically denied the rumors, adding, “No one spoke to us, nor did any consultation occur.”

However, the rumours did not sit well with the MQM-P, as Tessori doubled down on those circulating such claims, stating that he had the trust of PM Shehbaz, President Asif Ali Zardari, and his own party, and that he would continue to serve the people as long as he remains in office.

“I would tell those behind these reports that I am not the one who gets panicked [by such reports],” according to him.

Meanwhile, Sattar categorically denied the rumors, adding, “No one spoke to us, nor did any consultation occur.”

It should be mentioned that the MQM-P played a critical role in the demise of the Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government in April 2022, when it opted to break with the government to back the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) vote of no-confidence against then-Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The party led by Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui later joined the PDM administration. The PML-N wooed it once more to join them in the Centre following the February 8 polls, in which no party secured a simple majority in the National Assembly.

The MQM-P, which currently has 21 seats in the lower house of parliament — 17 general and four reserved — is a key ally of the PML-N-led government, whose future is in jeopardy due to the ruling coalition’s slim majority, particularly after the July 12 Supreme Court decision that not only resurrected the PTI in the assemblies but also declared it eligible for reservations.

As a result, the loss of MQM-P support by the PML-N might have far-reaching ramifications for the present administration and the political landscape as a whole.