PML-Q eyes alliance with religious, nationalist parties

Karachi
The Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q), whitewashed in Sindh in the May 2013 general election, has geared up its political activities and is on the brink of forging an alliance with the Majlis Wahdat-e- Muslimeen (MWM) and Sunni Tehreek (ST) to help it ride the upcoming wave of local government election in the province.
The central leadership has tasked the party’s Sindh president, Haleem Adil Shaikh, to muster support from political and religious groups.
In this regard, a meeting was held at the PML-Q’s provincial headquarter on Thursday which was attended by leaders of the MWM and Sunni Tehreek ST. On the occasion, both parties agreed to enter an alliance with the PML-Q before the local bodies’ election and contest the polls together.
Speaking during the meeting, Haleem Adil Shaikh, Allama Masood Domki of the MWM and Bilal Saleem Qadri of the ST opined that leaders who are at present managing the country’s affairs are a threat to the federation of Pakistan.
According to them, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ruled Punjab, Pakistan People’s Party managed Sindh, while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had emerged as the party of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They said all the three major parties had become parties of their regions and not the country as a whole. “Their approach to politics is a risk to the federation,” they said.
Besides deciding to form an alliance, the leaders also discussed various political issues, especially those related to the local government election. They said the opposition parties in Sindh had become the ‘B teams’ of the party in power.
In case the local government election was delayed further, said Bilal Qadri of the ST, the coalition would fight against terrorism and state aggression against its people.
Haleem Adil Shaikh said the party also planned to approach the nationalist parties, Qaumi Awami Tehreek and the Sindh United Party, and invite them to be a part of the alliance.