There is political calm in the provincial capital as Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan and Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim have left for Saudi Arabia for Umrah with a small contingent of their supporters and advisers.
In the absence of the governor, Speaker Syed Muzaffar Hussein Shah would be acting governor of Sindh. The Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC), Sabihuddin Ahmed, administered him the oath of the office on Saturday morning.
It is expected that the governor and the chief minister would be back before August 29 when the Sindh Assembly meets again on Tuesday morning after a break of 11 days.
It is generally believed that the chief minister and the governor of Sindh would meet in Jeddah and discuss some of their political issues in complete privacy. They are expected to come back with fresh understanding, and there would be minimised interference of the chief minister in affairs of ministries that are being held by the MQM and other coalition partners. There would be a lenient attitude of the chief minister towards the agitating teachers, who want lifting the ban on teachers unions. There would be renewed effort to remove encroachment and the chief minister would not permit his minister to politicise the encroachment issue.
It seems to have developed understanding between the chief minister and his coalition partners that they would support MQM in its protest against those who tore the proposed document to protect honour of women and bring about amendment to Hudood Ordinance. It is reliably learnt that the chief minister and the MQM leadership have reached an understanding that there would be no protest against each other and they would maintain friendly atmosphere till the 2007 elections were over.
It has been made clear to both the parties by a responsible aide of President General Pervez Musharraf that 'the President would not like to entertain complaints from anyone against anyone.'