Following in the footsteps of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), another partner of the ruling coalition, the Awami National Party (ANP), may also quit the federal Cabinet, said a news report. The reservations and complaints of the ANP, which is a major political force in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), with regard to the conduct of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), have increased, the report published in the leading English language daily The News said. The ANP has been compelled to seriously think about remaining in the coalition or parting company with it. One reason was non-allocation of ministries to the ANP in accordance with the agreement reached at the time of cobbling together of the coalition. Secondly, the ANP was also not being given top offices of the federal government institutions and organisations as had been agreed between the two sides. The top ANP leadership is very angry over the appointment of Zammrud Khan as the managing-director of the Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal. ANP spokesman Zahid Khan confirmed the differences with the PPP, and said after Khan's appointment, they were seriously considering whether they should stay in the ruling coalition or say goodbye to it. With Khan's appointment, ANP reservations have deepened because its two federal ministers have been bypassed in this regard, he said. “Therefore, we are now seriously considering quitting the two federal ministries because the same treatment has been meted out to us while appointing the head of the Employment Bureau.” Zahid complained that the ANP had not been consulted even on the judges' restoration issue as well as other important issues, including the military operation in the tribal areas. However, he maintained the ANP had been taken into confidence on the ongoing Bara operation. “The operation has been launched to curb criminals and the people are happy over it,” the spokesman said. “But two major coalition partners (the ANP and the PML-N) are not being taken into confidence (by the PPP) on various other important issues.” However, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said appointments at the federal level were the prerogative of the central government and the provincial governments had nothing to do with it. Moreover, he said, these appointments were being made on merit and the coalition partners were informed in this regard. “We, too, have some reservations over the conduct of the ANP-led government in the NWFP. Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti is replacing secretaries of our party's ministers without consulting them, ” Babar said. __
