ISLAMABAD - After yet another ultimatum by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to step out of the ruling coalition, Pakistan People’s Party leadership has made some high-level contacts with MQM asking them to defer the matter till the return of President Asif Ali Zardari from his United States visit. The PPP-MQM alliance has seen many ups and downs since the latter’s joining the PPP-led coalition government both in centre and Sindh and MQM had come up with such ultimatums many a time before and in the mid of last year they had even left the coalition and applied for the separate seats in the Sindh Assembly but somehow the President Zardari’s managed to woo them back in the coalition.Sources aware of the current acrimony which led to such an extreme step on part of MQM was the undue delay in the enforcement of newly promulgated ordinance on new local bodies system in the province, which both the parties had drafted after a marathon meetings held between them over the past several months.The sources in the PPP said that at the time of promulgation of Sindh Peoples Local Government Ordinance (SPLGO) 2012 they were not expecting such an opposition from the people of Sindh and even some of the coalition partners including ANP and PML-F came up with very strong reaction against it due to which the government was left with no choice but to defer its enforcement. President Zardari had tasked the PPP Sindh to evolve consensus on the new ordinance so that the same could be tabled before the Sindh Assembly for legislation, but MQM insisted that the same should be tabled before the Sindh Assembly at the earliest.The sources in PPP said that even some of the federal ministers and majority of the Parliamentarians from Sindh came up with strong opposition to the new ordinance due to which its enforcement in the province and some senior PPP leaders including Syed Khursheed Shah were tasked by the President to evolve consensus on it and also address the genuine concerns of the coalition partners on the new local government system.On the other hand, the MQM leadership wanted immediate enforcement of the new local government system in the province and some of their leaders came up with the proposal to PPP that the new system should immediately be put in place and the process of evolving consensus on it should go side by side.But sensing gravity of the situation and a very strong opposition to the new system of governance at grass roots level with the party ranks the Sindh PPP was not taking risk as any such move without evolving consensus on it would be disastrous and could not sail through the Sindh Assembly.The MQM leadership wanted the new local government system in place before the next general elections as they wanted their hold on the metropolitan corporations, particularly in Karachi and Hyderabad, their stronghold, ahead of elections to secure their seats, some of which would be in doldrums in case the current commissionarate system is in place at the time of next general elections.A senior PPP leader on condition of anonymity said that right now MQM was not in a position to dictate their terms as PPP could easily survive without their support both in Centre and Sindh and their ultimatum was just a pressure tactic and things would normalize on return of the President.On the other hand, the MQM leadership seemed determined to get their demands met by their senior coalition partner or part ways with the government for good, as their future politics greatly hinges on the fate of the local bodies system in the country.A credible source in MQM said that as a mark of protest their ministers would not be attending the Federal Cabinet meeting today and they would no more live on promises and would only stay in coalition on seeing concrete measures toward the fulfillment of their demands.Under the new ordinance status of Metropolitan Corporations would be given to Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Sukkur and Larkana divisions while 18 towns in Karachi would also be restored.