‘Alliance move makes PPP workers uneasy’

MULTAN, April 30: Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said Pakistan People`s Party workers were `feeling uncomfortable` as there were reports that deputy prime minister`s slot was being created for a person who was named by late Benazir Bhutto in connection with a conspiracy to kill her. Talking to journalists here on Saturday, Qureshi said as formation of a PPP alliance with PML-Q was in final stages, being a `true party worker` he (Mr Qureshi) would suggest to President Asif Ali Zardari to expand his circle of advisors as conflict with the judiciary and `mishandling` the Higher Education Commission issue were the result of poor consultation. He said as references to Benazir Bhutto`s reconciliation politics were being frequently given as an argument for forging an alliance with Q-League, there was a need to differentiate between the `politics of reconciliation` and `the politics of hypocrisy`. He added that the objectives of a political alliance should not be as `ad hoc` as getting the budget approved and perpetuating one`s rule. In an obvious reference to the ongoing dialogues between PPP and PML-Q, he said the talks were not being held to resolve issues like energy crisis and inflation, but, "the negotiations are going on the distribution of the slots of deputy prime minister, ministers and others, besides plans pertaining to seat-to-seat adjustment for forthcoming Senate elections, but there are no talks to provide relief to the masses." He said if the Q-League leadership was really loyal to the country and wanted to provide relief to the masses it should extend unconditional cooperation to the government without accepting ministries like the MQM which was going to support it only during the budget session `in larger interest of the masses`. "It is my humble request to the party leadership that the decision of forging an alliance with the PML-Q should not be taken in haste as party parliamentarians and office-bearers were expressing their reservations over this issue" he said, adding that even a loyal party man like Raza Rabbani had expressed his concern over the alliance. He said that after the 2008 election, former governors Salman Taseer and Lt-Gen Khalid Maqbool (retired) had proposed power sharing with the PML-Q but Asif Zardai had rejected the proposal saying PPP could enter into an alliance only with PML-N under the Charter of Democracy to wage a joint struggle against dictatorship.