Situationer: GDA also losing patience as PTI finds little time to consider coalition partners' issues.

Byline: Mohammad Hussain Khan

HYDERABAD -- After MutAtahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) made public its differences with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) earlier this week, there is growing disillusionment within the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) - the ruling party's other important ally in the federal government from Sindh.

GDA - mainly an anti-PPP alliance - feels that if the PTI does not respond with positive frame of mind to the issues being raised by it, it may become hard for it to face PPP in Sindh.

The GDA leadership has conveyed its concerns to the PTI leadership, including the Sindh governor, in respect of core issues of Sindh like gas, electricity, water, agriculture, federal government jobs etc.

In his recent meeting with GDA chief Pir Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi alias Pir Pagara, Governor Imran Ismail assured him of a positive response from the federal government on all issues the GDA has raised so far.

With three lawmakers in the National Assembly and 14 in the Sindh Assembly, GDA is PTI's second important ally in Sindh after MQM-P. PTI is trying hard to keep the two allies in the coalition and in a fresh such attempt, a delegation led by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak visited MQM-P offices in Karachi in the wake of the resignation of the party's convener, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, from the federal cabinet.

'We won't rock the boat'

'We don't want to rock the boat,' said Sardar Rahim, GDA's spokesman. 'GDA doesn't want to push federal government given its pre-occupation with other equally important matters but it also needs to realise that people of Sindh feel as if they are between the devil and deep blue sea,' he added.

Dr Safdar Abbasi, an important GDA figure from Larkana whose nephew had beaten PPP's Jamil Ahmed Soomro in the October 2019 by-election, points out that 'it looks as if PTI is not yet clear on important issues of Sindh'.

'Initially we didn't press government after polls as PTI was handling economic and national security issues simultaneously. But since then, it didn't pay attention to Sindh's issues seriously,' said Abbasi, who founded his PPP-Workers along with his wife, Naheed Khan. Both had been Benazir Bhutto's close aides.

Abbasi asserts that even in those areas where GDA candidates had lost in the previous polls, the defeat was with only a narrow margin and it won't be fair if their areas were neglected in terms of development. 'Then there are federal jobs in Sindh that can be given on a merit...