MQM, PPP on collision course

ISLAMABAD The making public of the National Reconciliation Ordinance beneficiaries list by the government on Saturday has worked like adding fuel on fire to the already worsening relations between Pakistan Peoples Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
After the ditching of Pakistan Peoples Party on National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in the Parliament by Muttahida Qaumi Movement both the coalition partners drifted away from each other and in their private meetings the PPP leadership vented out their anger against MQM.
Even in the Central Executive Committee meeting of Pakistan Peoples Party held a week ago a number of party leaders came down hard on MQM and the way they had ditched them in the Parliament on the issue of NRO.
These leaders stressed the need of reviewing the ties with MQM and some of them even suggested to shunt them out of the coalition both at centre and Sindh government.
The sources in the PPP disclosed to TheNation that after facing humiliation on the NRO fiasco, the PPP leadership decided to make public the names of all those who had benefited from NRO knowing the fact that MQM was on top of the list of those who had benefited from the ordinance.
It was under the arrangements of things that PPP had unveiled the list of NRO beneficiaries so that people could know who had benefited to what extent from the ordinance.
Pakistan Peoples Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement were not having a smooth sailing both at centre and in Sindh government for quite sometime and MQM got unique opportunity to record their concern by ditching the coalition government on NRO.
Ostensibly PPP had pocketed their insult on NRO issue but actually they had planned to pay MQM back in same coin and they did it by unmasking the beneficiaries of NRO with MQM men leading far ahead of the other beneficiaries.
The sources in the PPP further disclosed to TheNation that PPP was in no mood to appease MQM and in days to come the confrontation between the two sides would increase.
The sources further said that on the issue of Local Bodies System both the parties would again disagree and PPP Sindh chapter leadership was not ready to retain the incumbent district government system and wanted to revert back to the old system as desired by the rest of three provinces.
The sources further said that the way things were unfolding it would be difficult for both the coalition partners to keep their alliance intact and the leadership of both the parties had already changed their tones toward each other.
Sensing the aloofness in the relations, MQM leaders had already come out in open to criticise the Pakistan Peoples Partys policies, even they had joined the opposition in leveling rigging charges on their coalition partner.
After making public of the NRO beneficiaries list, the tone of the MQM leaders toward PPP was quite harsh and they seemed prepared for a showdown with their senior coalition partner and most likely this time it would be the Local Bodies System which is going to complete its term on 31 December and going back into the purview of the provinces.