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

In a concerning development for the ruling coalition, the Muttahi Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has warned that it will have no reason to be part of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led administration if any unilateral decision is made regarding the office of Sindh governor.

MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar, stressing that the said Constitutional post belongs to his party, said: "It was decided [in meetings] with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that Kamran Tessori would remain the governor."

Sattar's remarks come in the backdrop of ongoing ambiguity surrounding Tessori's future after last week sources told Geo News that the PML-N-led federal government had come to terms with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which rules Sindh, to replace Tessori with ex-Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) chief Bashir Memon.

However, the rumours didn't sit well with the MQM-P as Tessori doubled down on those spreading such reports and said that he enjoyed the confidence of PM Shehbaz, President Asif Ali Zardari and his own party and would continue to serve the people till the time he is in office.

"I would tell those behind these reports that I am not the one who gets panicked [by such reports]," he said.

Meanwhile, Sattar outrightly dismissed the rumours, saying: "No one talked to us nor did any consultation take place."

The former Karachi mayor's views were echoed by his colleague Khawaja Izharul Hassan, who also dismissed the potential removal of Tessori, citing a social contract which provisioned representation of the province's urban areas via the governor when the chief minister belonged to the rural areas.

However, presenting the Centre's point of view on the matter, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has said that a decision on the issue of the Sindh governor post is expected soon.

However, he refuted the reports suggesting the appointment of PML-N's Memon for the said post.

It is to be noted that the MQM-P played a key role in the ousting of the Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government after it decided to part ways with the government to support the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) vote of no-confidence against the then prime minister Imran Khan in April 2022.

The Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui-led party was subsequently a part of the PDM government. It was once again wooed by the PML-N to join them in the Centre following the February 8 polls where no party managed to secure 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 hangs in a delicate balance owing to the slim majority of the ruling coalition, especially after the July 12 Supreme Court verdict that not only resurrected the PTI in the assemblies but also declared it eligible for reserved seats.

Therefore, the loss of the MQM-P's support by the PML-N might have drastic consequences for the incumbent government and the political landscape altogether.