Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Rahim have resolved their differences and the coalition government would function smoothly in the province, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz announced here on Saturday.
Earlier, a MQM delegation met President General Pervez Musharraf and briefed him about their point of view, while Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim held a meeting with the Prime Minister at PM House.
Speaking to reporters along with Dr Arbab and members of the MQM delegation, including Minister for Ports and Shipping, Babar Khan Ghauri, provincial minister Adil Siddiqui, Nazim Hyderabad Naveed Kanwar and PM's Special Assistant Khalilur Rehman at the PM House, Shaukat said that the coalition government would take all decisions with consensus and would devote its energies for completion of the development projects, and ensure good governance.
He said that minor differences among coalition government partners were natural outcome, but MQM did not put any demands to patch up with the chief minister and PML.
He was hopeful that MQM and PML would contest the next general election as partners and solve their internal differences in a spirit of understanding and partnership.
APP ADDS: The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction over the outcome of negotiations with the coalition members of the Sindh government.
"We all have resolved to promote unity and good governance in Sindh," and the government would accelerate and take forward the development work in the province.
This, he added, will benefit the people and further strengthen the province and the country. Shaukat Aziz, when asked, described as totally baseless news reports that Tariq Aziz has presented a report to President Musharraf with regard to the issue. "There is no truth in it and news about such report is totally baseless," he said and asked the media to avoid such speculations.
To a question about "demands" by the MQM, the Prime Minister said there were only communication issues, which have now been resolved. Shaukat Aziz said, there were no demands and everybody said that they want to further improve their performance with the support of the federal government. Replying to a question on the powers of the chief minister, he said this was never an issue and there had been no discussion on it.