Mumtaz Ali Bhutto on Wednesday warned PML-N president Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday that if he (Nawaz) did not honour the agreement he signed at the time of Sindh National Front's (SNF) merger, he (Mumtaz Bhutto) would be forced to rethink new strategy regarding relations with PML-N. Mumtaz Bhutto dismissed PML-N's victory saying: "No one from PML-N has so far approached me...I have also not contacted them."
He said that he was neither keen to rush to Islamabad or Lahore to exchange greetings. "I am very happy sitting peacefully in my home town Rato Dero enjoying political developments." Mumtaz Bhutto was unhappy over the election result of his son Amir Bux Bhutto, who lost to a PPP candidate on a provincial assembly seat. He refused to concede the defeat and said that he considered him to be a winner from PS-37, Larkana, alleging massive rigging by PPP which used state apparatus, including local police and polling staff, turning his victory into defeat.
PPPP's Mohammad Ali Bhutto, a close relative of late Benazir Bhutto, was declared elected although before the polls there were indications that Amir Bux, a popular contender, would have an upper hand against the PPPP nominee. Mumtaz Bhutto told Business Recorder on telephone from Rato Dero that he had merged his party with PML-N on the basis of an agreement comprising only province-related points and not for any government position.
"If agreement is not followed word for word by the Nawaz League, I will devise a new strategy," the first cousin of Zulifqar Ali Bhutto maintained. Referring to specific points of the agreement, Mumtaz Bhutto said that there were many points submitted by "his party", but the PML-N had agreed on just four points, including if and when PML-N would come into power, the country would be governed on the basis of ideology of Pakistan, in accordance with the resolution of 1940, National Finance Commission (NFC) would be reviewed, share of provinces would be distributed on equal basis in NFC awards, Provinces would be given financial and administrative autonomy and immediate long march would be started against the PPPP-led government. This agreement was made in April last year, but PML-N had not honoured the fourth point of the agreement and the long march could not staged.
He said that he did want any government position as he had enjoyed most top slots in various provincial governments; he just wanted PML-N to keep true to the agreement. Ayoub Shar, who was the Secretary General of SNF, said: "Let us see if PML-N follows the other three points of the agreement. He said: "SNF's organisation had given PML-N a strong network in all districts and UCs of Sindh but they (PML-N) had not given us due respect and positions in the party."
He said that he was the Secretary-General of SNF, after the merger he had been given the slot of Vice-President in PML-N's Sindh Chapter. According to him, there were 45 vice-presidents of PML-N in Sindh alone. Shar said that soon after the agreement, it was evident that PML-N would not honour the agreement. "People were telling us that PML-N will not do anything against the PPPP and both parties were playing with people's sentiments," Ayoub said.
In the last, he said that the 10-party-alliance was not "a union, but it was actually a merger of PML-N's Sindh chapter with PML-F". He alleged that Syed Ghous Ali Shah was responsible for the failure of the Nawaz League in Sindh elections. He said that Shah had forged the alliance only to secure PML-F support for his personal election in Khairpur Mir's, which he also lost.