ISLAMABAD, Dec 29: The ruling Pakistan People’s Party continued on Wednesday its desperate attempts to woo the two estranged coalition partners -- JUI-F and MQM -- back into the government-fold, whereas the PML-N and MQM launched tirades of abuse against each other taking their war of words beyond civility.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani discussed the prevailing political situation with his cabinet colleagues minus MQM and JUI-F. And his party boss President Asif Zardari presided over a similar meeting of PPP’s provincial ministers and MPAs at the Bilawal House in Karachi.

Earlier, President Zardari sent Interior Minister Rehman Malik to the official residence of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to convey his ‘special message’ with a request for a ceasefire.

In the evening, people were stunned to see their national leaders and legislators on TV screens using abusive language and making personal attacks against each other outside the Parliament House.

Mr Malik, who has always been active in political wheeling dealings, rushed to the residence of Maulana Fazl at the Minister’s Enclave in Islamabad for a breakfast meeting hours before the latter’s departure for Saudi Arabia and requested him not to issue statements about the government and the PPP.

According to JUI-F sources, the Maulana reiterated his demand that President Zardari should replace Mr Gilani with another PPP nominee in order to save the present democratic set-up.

Meanwhile, in what appears to be a damage control move, Mr Zardari stopped all party members, particularly those belonging to Sindh, from issuing hostile statements against coalition partners.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Dawn that Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza had briefed the president on the law and order situation in Sindh in general and Karachi in particular.

Although Mr Babar declined to divulge details of the briefing, sources were of the opinion that the Sindh home minister must have apprised Mr Zardari of the background of his controversial speech in which he had alleged that the MQM was involved in target killings in Karachi.

Mr Babar said the president had called the interior minister to Karachi for making contacts with the MQM leadership. He said the president was hopeful that ‘misunderstandings’ between the two parties would be removed soon.

PML-MQM DIATRIBE: The ongoing war of words between the MQM and the opposition PML-N on Wednesday took a new and ugly turn when their leaders hit each other below the belt and used un-parliamentary language outside the Parliament House.

It all started when Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan passed some objectionable remarks against MQM chief Altaf Hussain, who had challenged PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Monday to have a live debate with him on national issues.

Chaudhry Nisar alleged that the MQM chief had remained under treatment at a rehabilitation centre outside London and he had not yet completely recovered from the ailment. He threatened to make public the record of the rehabilitation centre to prove his claim.

Moreover, he said, Mr Hussain had been living in the UK for 19 years after taking oath of allegiance to the British queen and did not bother to come to the country even when his countrymen were suffering because of natural disasters like earthquake and floods.

Later, the PML-N released the copies of Mr Hussain’s oath of allegiance to the British queen which he had been administered at the time of getting the British nationality.

“A person who has been busy in making properties worth billions of rupees and has not come to Pakistan for the past 19 years is talking about revolution,” Chaudhry Nisar said.

The opposition leader said that on one hand the MQM was angry with Nawaz Sharif for his remarks about revolution and, on the other hand, it was still a partner with the PPP although the Sindh home minister had used derogatory language against it.

The remarks angered MQM leaders Wasim Akhtar and Haider Abbas Rizvi so much that they went two steps ahead in abusing the PML-N leadership and passing remarks about their personal appearances.

“When politicians live in exile they write books, but these two (Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif) have got their hair transplant in London,” said Mr Akhtar. “Corruption and prostitution” were on the rise in Punjab, he alleged.

The MQM legislators said that people remembered the day when Nawaz Sharif and his family went into exile carrying 120 boxes with an army of servants after begging for life to former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf. They said the PML-N was a product of the era of military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq.

The MQM leaders further said they knew how marriages took place in the Sharif family and asked the PML-N leaders to disclose the number of their wives. They said their party would not tolerate any personal attack on its chief. Chaudhry Nisar should be ‘ashamed’ of using such language against Mr Hussain.

Mr Akhtar likened Chaudhry Nisar to the famous British comedian character Mr Bean and warned the PML-N leadership against opening Pandora’s Box. He said that soon the people of Lahore would stand up against the Sharif brothers because they were fed up with them.

The country has been facing a political turmoil since Zulfikar Mirza made a controversial speech in Karachi on Dec 13 and the sacking of Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi and Science and Technology Minister Azam Swati of the JUI-F against the backdrop of a Haj scam the following day.

The JUI-F quit the 32-month-old PPP-led coalition government in protest against the removal of Mr Swati and decided to sit on the opposition benches.

On the same day, the MQM, a coalition partner of the PPP at the centre and in Sindh, gave a 10-day ultimatum to the PPP leadership to come out with an explanation over the remarks made by Dr Mirza. After the expiry of the deadline, the MQM quit the federal cabinet, but decided to sit on the treasury benches. Its two federal ministers submitted their resignations to President Zardari on Tuesday.

The MQM has announced that it will wait for another few days before taking a decision to sit on the opposition benches. It wants President Zardari to take action against the Sindh home minister.