KARACHI, Pakistan – A key party in Pakistan's ruling coalition said it would quit the cabinet on Tuesday, threatening the stability of the country's already shaky U.S.-allied government.
The latest political pressure on President Asif Ali Zardari's government comes as Pakistan faces a slew of problems, including a violent Islamist insurgency and a financial crunch that has left the government relying on an $11 billion loan from the IMF.
Government instability could also hamper U.S. efforts to convince Pakistan to take more action against Islamic extremists and al-Qaida-affiliated groups hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas. Pakistanis are also still reeling from this year's massive floods and persistent electricity shortages.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a secular party whose primary base is the southern city of Karachi, said its two cabinet ministers would submit their resignations Tuesday, which is typically a precursor to joining the opposition. MQM leaders, however, said they would not shift their 25 seats to the opposition — yet.
Farooq Sattar, one of the MQM Cabinet ministers, said his party was unhappy with the lack of progress in solving Pakistan's problems and felt Zardari's Pakistani People's Party did not consult the MQM enough.
Earlier this month, another coalition member, the Jamiat Ulema Islam, said it would join the opposition. If the MQM decides to join the opposition as well, the governing coalition would fall below the 172 seat threshold needed to keep a majority in Parliament.
That could lead to early elections, continuing a long-standing pattern in Pakistan where civilian governments never finish their full terms, either because they are ousted in a military coup or forced out by other means.
During a news conference Tuesday, JUI leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani should resign or be removed by Zardari because he had exacerbated tensions within the governing coalition.
"If this crisis continues in the presence of this prime minister, then I fear that it might derail democracy," he said.
The PPP won the most seats in the 2008 elections weeks after its leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. Her husband, Zardari, gained the presidency months later after the ouster of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf from that position.
But Zardari is widely reviled in Pakistan, and the party's popularity has slipped as problems here have grown.
If the government does fall, the biggest beneficiary could be Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N. The party is more religiously conservative than the PPP or the MQM and it has not been as vocal in opposing the Taliban.
Zardari's party was lobbying hard Tuesday to prevent the MQM from leaving the coalition.
"We will try to sort out whatever their demands and concerns are," said Sharmila Farooqi, a PPP spokeswoman. "We will still have their support. We have a five-year mandate and we still have two more years."
No comments:
Post a Comment