'Peace will be restored in Khi with help of political parties'

 ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari held an important meeting with key Sindh ministers at the Presidency on Saturday night to discuss the law and order situation in Karachi and find a political solution to bring peace to the financial capital of the country.

It was decided in the meeting that peace would be restored in Karachi with the cooperation of all the political parties at any cost and that no administrative reshuffle would be made in Sindh.

Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said President Asif Ali Zardari directed Senior Sindh Minister Zulfiqar Mirza for activating party workers at gross-root level to initiate party membership.

According to sources, MQM would be granted the ministries that they held before quitting the government. Federal Minister Khursheed Shah has been assigned the task to resolve the issue of ministries with MQM.

They added that President Asif Ali Zardari said that policy of reconciliation would continue and that peace in Karachi is the top priority. Strict action would be taken against the miscreants and police and Rangers would perform this task, the sources said.

Interestingly, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Home Minister Manzoor Hussain Wasan did not attend the meeting. Those who attended included Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani, Minister for Planning and Development Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, Information Minister Sharjeel Memon, Minister for Law Muhammad Ayaz Soomro, Agriculture Minister Syed Ali Nawaz Shah and Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

Sources in the Presidency said the meeting was very important from the political point of view as all the ministers who met the president are considered very close to him.

The president also directed beefing up of the intelligence network in Karachi to provide real time information to the police to apprehend culprits planning criminal activities.