The Muttahida Qaumi Movement which announced on Saturday that it was quitting the provincial and federal governments, offered to the opposition in the Sindh Assembly on Sunday to work out a plan to achieve the rights of the deprived and oppressed people of the province and put it on the road to progress and prosperity.

This was stated by Muhammad Raza Haroon, who led an MQM delegation which held talks with PML-F leaders at the residence of its provincial general secretary Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh.

At a press conference, Mr Haroon, accompanied by Syed Sardar Ahmad, Khwaja Izhar and Khalid Omar, said the PML-F had demanded that the MQM should call for repeal of the new local government law, back their candidate Nusrat Sehar Abbasi as leader of the opposition in the assembly and ask Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad to quit his office.

“We have assured them that we will place their point of view for consideration before the MQM Coordination Committee and also our parliamentary committee which is meeting on Monday.”

He recalled that over the past five years the MQM had been accused of playing the role of opposition despite being in the government by opposing any legislation which was against the interest of people but it had not parted ways with the government to strengthen democracy and acted as a true friend of the PPP.

But the situation changed, he said, when the government withdrew the offer of head money and cases against notorious, hardened criminals, terrorists, extortionists and killers of MQM supporters. The decision, he said, was illegal, unconstitutional and immoral and for that reason his party decided to sit on the opposition benches.

Mr Haroon said they had decided to meet the opposition before applying on Monday for joining its benches because of good relations between their leaders and Pir Pgara also had given a message to be conveyed to MQM chief Altaf Hussain.As far as the SPLG Act was concerned, he said, it was before the Supreme Court and the verdict was awaited.

Besides, these laws had been made by the assembly and if the Constitution could be amended why not the laws in the interest of the people, he said.Mr Shaikh, the PML-F leader, said the demand he had made at a press conference earlier and the party’s stand on the issue of local government law had been placed before the MQM in a candid manner.

“We informed them that repeal of the local government law was the demand of the people of Sindh and if their governor stayed in his office their opposition would be perceived as the outcome of some understanding with the PPP to deprive the genuine opposition of its role in formation of the caretaker set-up.

Mr Shaikh, who was accompanied by Pir Yasir, Nusrat Abbasi, Syeda Marvi Rashdi, Dr Rafique Bhanban and Kamran Tessori, said the need of the hour was to hold free and fair elections on time.At his earlier press conference, Mr Shaikh said the MQM’s decision of quitting the government was part of a plan to manoeuvre the installation of caretaker government.

If it was not the outcome of a deal, the MQM should support PML-F candidate Nusrat Abbasi to become leader of opposition and ask its governor to resign.His said the PML-F and its allies had quit the coalition government over differences on the local government law and as such it was their right to nominate the leader of opposition.

He said if the MQM did not support the PML-F candidate, they would be justified to presume that its decision to quit the government was the outcome of a deal because of its record of quitting and rejoining the government.He criticised the Sindh Assembly speaker for having failed to appoint the leader of opposition over the past two and a half months and now the court had asked him to take a decision in 10 days.

He said the PML-F had emerged as the alternative leadership in Sindh.Condemning the attacks and killings in Quetta, the PML-F leader said the Balochistan governor had conceded his failure even after imposition of governor’s rule and, therefore, there was no justification for not handing over Quetta to the army in accordance with the popular demand.