GDA ditches PTI, announces support for MQM-P’s opposition leader

The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) on Tuesday announced its support for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) candidate for the post of the leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Rana Ansar Naqvi.

The announcement was made at a joint press conference of GDA and MQM-P leaders after a delegation of the latter comprising the party’s senior deputy conveners Dr Farooq Sattar and Syed Mustafa Kamal, and MPAs Khawaja Izharul Hassan and Rana called on GDA General Secretary Dr Safdar Ali Abbasi, Information Secretary Sardar Abdul Rahim and other leaders at the Functional League House.

The GDA had on Saturday authorised a two-member committee comprising Dr Abbasi and Rahim to hold talks and make a decision regarding the leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly. Speaking to the media after Saturday’s meeting, GDA Chief Coordinator Sadaruddin Shah Rashdi had remarked that the GDA was not part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as the alliance had contested the general elections separately.

The GDA was part of the PTI-led federal government before Imran Khan was removed from power through the no-confidence motion. The alliance did not ditch the PTI even when the latter’s other allies such as the MQM-P supported the no-confidence move against Imran and became allies of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the new federal government.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the GDA agreed on supporting the MQM-P for the position of the leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly who has to play a key role in the formation of the caretaker government as according to the Constitution, the caretaker chief minister has to be appointed through consultations between the leader of the House and the leader of the opposition. In case the two fail to reach an agreement, the decision has to be taken by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Talking to the media, Rahim said the MQM-P leaders had visited the Functional League House to seek support of the GDA MPAs for the slot of the opposition leader. He explained that the two parties had earlier held three to four meetings on the issue of the opposition leader and caretaker setup.

Rahim announced that the GDA would support Rana for the slot of the leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly. He added that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had ruined the province and destroyed Karachi. Terming PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari Sindh’s Modi, Rahim said the GDA would continue its political struggle until it had expelled the PPP from Sindh.

Commenting on recent departures of some leaders from the GDA, Rahim said if anyone wanted to leave the alliance, there was no restriction. He, however, predicted that when the caretaker setup would come into effect, many people would join the alliance.

Kamal said the MQM-P and GDA had not only sat together for the issue of the opposition leader, but they would also have to fill the gap between rural and urban Sindh. “The PPP has created its own state and fiefdom. This has created disappointment among the people,” he remarked.

He added that the MQM-P also had good relations with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. The anti-PPP people were uniting and they aim at ending the PPP’s illegal occupation of Sindh, Kamal maintained.

Numbers in PA

According to the Sindh Assembly website, the PTI is the largest opposition party in the House with 30 MPAs. The MQM-P and GDA are the second and third largest opposition parties with 21 and 14 MPAs respectively.

The other two opposition parties are the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan and Jamaat-e-Islami with a combined strength of just four MPAs.

This means that if all the MQM-P and GDA members request for the change of the leader of the opposition, the incumbent leader of the opposition Haleem Adil Sheikh of the PTI, who has not been showing up in the assembly after the May 9 riots, would lost the post and Rana would become the leader of the opposition.