PTI govt allies express dissent over issues at Imran Khan's luncheon

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday invited his government's allies to a luncheon, where the coalition partners expressed dissent over some issues, informed sources.

The coalition parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), other political parties of Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), were relentless in pushing their complaints, and Khan eventually had to make concessions and agree to address their grievances in the near term, reported The News.

Sources informed that the allies had expressed reservations over the non-provision of development funds and lack of development projects in their constituencies. They had also protested against the unresolved issues of the people belonging to the constituencies.

Dr Fehmida Mirza, the Minister for Inter-provincial coordination, regretted that neither the federal government nor the Sindh government had undertaken any mega projects or development works in Sindh.

"The people of Sindh are being treated like stepchildren," said Dr Mirza, urging the Prime Minister to pay attention to their problems.

The PML-F also expressed reservations over the neglect felt by the people of Sindh, according to The News.

"We are your allies, but the government does nothing to prove it," complained Pir Pagara.

The coalition members also targeted the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP)-led Sindh government, alleging that the bureaucracy of Sindh was running federal projects according to the PPP's own whims and wishes.

"The Sindh government is deliberately ignoring our constituencies," the MQM-P leaders lamented, requesting the PTI-led (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) regime to consult the coalition parties over federal projects.

After hearing the protests and reservations by the allies, Khan assured that the coalition parties would 'see implementation soon', according to The News.

"All the promises we made to the allies will be fulfilled," he added.

The Prime Minister also slammed the Opposition, alleging that they were 'hell-bent on harming Pakistan."

He also claimed that his party would win the elections on the basis of their performance in the next two and a half years.

This comes amid a tense political situation in Pakistan, with a pro-democracy coalition organised in Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan in October by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) which is gathering support amongst the masses.

The campaign to topple Khan's government had brought the tabooed topic of military intervention up for discussion.

(ANI)

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