Turkish president says the move is also aimed at increasing the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza
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Gilani’s government lost its parliamentary majority on Sunday after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) announced it would go into opposition over government fuel price policies that it said were “unbearable” for Pakistanis.
The political crisis comes at a time when the United States has increased pressure on Pakistan to go after Islamist militant groups to help it turn around the faltering war in Afghanistan.
It also adds to the Pakistani government’s problems at home as it struggles to avoid economic collapse and meet demands placed on it by the International Monetary Fund in return for an $11 billion loan.
Pakistani stocks opened 1.43 percent lower on Monday after the MQM switched political allegiance, dealers said.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s benchmark 100-share index was down 1.51 percent, or 182.05 points, at 11840.41, on turnover of 57.93 million shares by 1:06 p.m. (3:06 a.m. ET)
The MQM’s withdrawal means that if opposition parties close ranks, they would be able to force a no-confidence vote on Gilani in parliament.
No party has formally called for such a vote yet, but analysts said that was the main worry for the coalition government.
“From this point onward, the government will be on crutches. The no-confidence vote is a threat for it.” said Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency.
The MQM has not yet taken any decision on a vote in the government, party leader Faisal Subzwari told Reuters. The party said its senators had submitted a motion seeking a rollback of fuel price rises.
While anger over fuel prices was the immediate provocation, the MQM has also been complaining for months that the government was not doing enough to improve security in its home base of Karachi, Pakistan’s financial capital and biggest city.
Karachi’s so-called targeted killings, often blamed on supporters of the MQM and its rival party the Awami National Party, have risen to their highest levels in 15 years.
Drive-by shootings, drug wars, extortion rackets and land grabbing are deepening chaos in Karachi, which officials say contributes 68 percent of the government’s total revenue and 25 percent of gross domestic product.
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