ISLAMABAD / KARACHI, Aug 2: The Sindh political crisis appears to have been averted as Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, looking wan and drawn from late-night marathon talks, had a make-or-break meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday evening and agreed that resignations tendered by Muttahida Qaumi Movement legislators would not be accepted.

MQM chief Altaf Hussain phoned Gen Musharraf during the meeting and expressed his party’s trust in the president’s leadership.

The MQM’s sudden refusal to attend a meeting with the president on Tuesday in protest against unkind remarks attributed to Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim led to a brief, albeit tempestuous, estrangement with Gen Musharraf.

Political observers noted that the MQM coordination committee, which was on the war-path till Tuesday, remained meaningfully quiet on Wednesday.

Quoting unnamed sources, Online reported that Dr Ibad offered apologies to Gen Musharraf on behalf of the MQM.

“If the president is unhappy with the MQM’s attitude, then we are sorry,” the governor was reported to have said at a meeting attended by the president’s aides.

However, the MQM chief told activists by telephone from London that the party would never compromise on principles. He said conspiracies and state power could not eliminate a political party like the MQM which had deep ideological roots.

Sources privy to the proceedings of the meeting told Dawn that Dr Ibad was at pains to explain that the MQM’s decision of boycotting the Tuesday meeting should not be misconstrued as an ill-concealed snub to Gen Musharraf.

“In a heart-to-heart with Dr Ibad, President Musharraf told him that he was hurt by the Sindh governor’s decision of accompanying the MQM negotiating team back to Karachi without so much as meeting him in Islamabad,” they said.

The president, said the sources, advised the MQM against discussing its complaints with the government in the media. He said the MQM should try and resolve its differences with the Sindh chief minister.

According to the sources, the governor informed the president that the MQM was not alone in having beef with the chief minister who had also reportedly displeased quite a few members of the provincial chapter of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League.

“President Musharraf assured the Sindh governor that he would ask his close associates to look into growing complaints against Dr Rahim,” the sources said, adding that the ruling PML had called a meeting on Friday to discuss the issue.

PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain told a private TV channel that the media had blown complaints about the Sindh chief minister’s attitude out of all proportion.

As evasive as they come, Chaudhry Shujaat said: “But everything will turn out to be alright.”

Earlier, Federal Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani told journalists that the government would amicably resolve differences with its major coalition partner in Sindh.

Mr Durrani said: “We have decided to have a meeting with our coalition partners on a fortnightly basis. And differences with the MQM will soon be resolved. All is well that ends well.”

Meanwhile, the MQM directed its federal and provincial ministers and advisers to resume office from Thursday.