ISLAMABAD: In a surprising move, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Thursday skipped the luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Imran Khan at the PM's Office in honour of leaders of allied political parties of his government, despite initially accepting the invitation.
Federal Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema, who is a member of PML-Q, said that it was his party's decision not to go to the luncheon, saying that the party's reservations had not been addressed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
"When the PML-Q is not important for the prime minister, what is the point for the party to attend the luncheon," said Cheema, who is believed to be a great admirer of PM Khan.
"Whenever, the government needed us, we voted for them more than the government's own people," said the PML-Q leader. He also claimed that the ministers who had come to give them the invitation had also acknowledged that the PML-Q was not being treated fairly.
Meanwhile, senior party leader Moonis Elahi, in a tweet, said that the "PML-Q's alliance with PTI is to the extent of votes, having lunch is not part of our agreement".
The sources told Business Recorder that allied parties complained to the prime minister against non-provision of development funds and lack of uplift schemes in their constituencies.
The Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination, Dr Fehmida Mirza, regretted that neither the federal nor the Sindh government had undertaken any mega project in Sindh, which had created unrest among the people who voted for resolution of their problems.
"It is inappropriate to ignore elected parliamentarians in the federal government's plans," she added, highlighting her concerns regarding Sindh's issues and the injustices of the PPP-led provincial setup.
According to the sources, the PML-F also joined in expressing reservations over the neglect felt by the people of Sindh.
"We are your allies, but the government is doing nothing whenever they needed some help or projects about our constituencies," Pir Pagara was quoted as telling the PM.
The MQM-P and the GDA also opened up about their views regarding the Government of Sindh, noting that the PPP had control of each department of the province. The coalition members further alleged that the bureaucracy of Sindh was running federal projects according to the PPP's own whims and wishes.
The MQM-P, while expressing reservations regarding the implementation of the Karachi Transformation Plan (KTP), demanded that the promises made to the southern port city be fulfilled.
Work on the KTP is going at a snail's pace, the MQM leaders complained to the PM, adding the people of Karachi were being affected due to the Sindh government's non-cooperation.
The MQM-P accused the Sindh government of nepotism with regard to Ehsaas programme and disbursements from Pakistan Baitul Mal, saying only those the provincial government favoured or knew, were being rewarded.
The Sindh government is deliberately ignoring our constituencies, the MQM-P leaders lamented, requesting the prime minister to consult the coalition parties over federal projects.
Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui of the MQM-P raised the issue of missing party workers and Karachi-related cases. Those who attended the luncheon include Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Planning Minister Asad Umar, and Usman Buzdar, Jam Kamal Khan, and Mahmood Khan - the respective chief ministers of Punjab, Balochistan, and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Kamal spoke on the government's performance and issues in Balochistan, complaining about the non-fulfillment of the federal government's promises. Umar, the sources added, gave the guests a briefing on Pakistan's economy and reforms.
The country's economic situation, he observed, had greatly improved. Following the protests and reservations put forth by members of the allies, the prime minister said he had heard the concerns and that coalition parties would "see implementation soon".
"All the promises we made to the allies will be fulfilled," he added.
"We are all united to make Pakistan better."
PM Imran Khan complained about the Opposition, saying they were "hell-bent on harming Pakistan".
"The Opposition is trying its best to blackmail me," he claimed.
"You all know, I'm not going to be blackmailed."
The premier said he wanted to have a dialogue with the Opposition, but they "keep asking for an NRO".
"What is the use of a dialogue, if we have to allow concessions in the NAB cases," he asked, referring to Pakistan's anti-graft watchdog and the controversial corruption cases against Opposition leaders.
"Dialogues will be meaningless, if the terms are related to personal interests," he stated.
Talking about skyrocketing inflation, the PM sought his allies' views on inflation.
The coalition members told the PM that it should be the top-most priority of the government or else things would go from bad to worse as people were having serious issues due to inflation.
The premier agreed with the allies, and said drastic measures would be taken to tackle inflation, adding his government was working regularly to control inflation, the economic indicators were improving rapidly, and the exports had also increased.
From MQM-P, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Syed Aminul Haq, and Kishwar Zehra attended the luncheon. On the other hand, the GDA delegation was led by Dr Fehmida Mirza. Members from the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and the Awami Muslim League also attended the luncheon.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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