Nascent coalition govt comes under fire from within.

ISLAMABAD -- Cracks in the 11-week-old ruling alliance became all too visible on Monday when, one after the other, nearly all coalition partners made angry outbursts in the National Assembly over the 'change of attitude' of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), accusing it of backtracking from the commitments it made ahead of the no-confidence vote against former prime minister Imran Khan.

The most aggressive stance was taken by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), which was one of the main components of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance and a key partner of the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on the opposition benches during the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) regime.

Federal Minister for Communications Asad Mehmood, who hails from JUI-F, protested the government's decision to file appeal before the Supreme Court a Federal Shariat Court (FSC) decision in the Riba case.

Complaining that the government had made the decision without consulting his party, the JUI-F leader hinted that his party could even go to the extent of quitting the ruling alliance if the PML-N did not come out with a clarification.

The government and the ministry concerned should make it clear if the banks had gone to court under their directives, he asked, adding: 'If they have done it on their own, then who has given them the authority to go into the appeal against such decisions and on what grounds? No government minister can make decisions alone. You cannot file an appeal without consulting us,' declared Mr Mehmood, who is the son of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

He was speaking on a point of order while the assembly was approving demands for grants for various ministries and divisions in connection with the federal budget 2022-23.

'If today any ministry wants to take a solo flight then it should think and decide about its future. We have decided about our future. We will spend our lives in accordance with Islam... and we distance ourselves from such decisions,' he said.

Indirectly threatening to agitate against this move, Mr Mehmood asked the government to withdraw the appeal in the SC and make a categorical announcement in this regard.

Another attack on the government was launched from within the alliance by independent MNA from Gwadar, Aslam Bhootani who lodged a strong protest against Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal for not including development schemes in his constituency in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP)...

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