KARACHI, June 20: A top-level contact between the leadership of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Pakistan People’s Party resulted in the suspension of a Sindh government notification on Friday through which it had terminated the services of about 6,000 employees of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB).

A notification dated June 20 was issued by Local Government Secretary Fazlur Rehman in this regard on Friday. The notification reads: “In pursuance of decision taken by provincial cabinet meeting on April 13, 2008 and directives communicated vide letter No PS/Secy/CMS/2008/3 dated April 25, 2008 by Chief Minister Secretariat Sindh, Karachi, all the appointments in Karachi Water and Sewerage Board by caretaker government during the period from November 19, 2007 to April 8, 2008 are hereby cancelled with immediate effect”.

In its first meeting held on April 13, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah–led Sindh cabinet decided to review all decisions and appointments made by the caretaker government in the light of reports of departments to find and repeal all appointments and decisions made in violation of rules.

Well-placed sources told Dawn that the notification to terminate the services of about 6,000 employees was issued after the formal approval of Local Government Minister Agha Siraj Durrani. However, within a few hours after the issuance of the notification and following high-level contacts, the Sindh chief minister intervened in the matter and asked the KWSB Managing Director, Suleman Chandio, to suspend the implementation of the notification and not to sack any employee of the water utility.

“On the directives of provincial minister Agha Siraj Durrani, implementation of a notification dated June 20 regarding termination of all appointments made by the caretaker government has been suspended and no employee would be sacked,” said Mr Chandio.

The sources said that the entire leadership of the MQM was shocked when it heard the news of cancellation of KWSB appointments. The London-based party leadership took up the matter with PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and others to express its concern over the development.

They said that the PPP leadership was reminded about its commitment with the MQM that services of employees would not be terminated. The MQM leadership asked as to why thousands of people were sacked from the water board to which the PPP leadership informed the MQM that the matter was not in its knowledge. The top PPP leadership assured the MQM that it would take prompt action.

It is widely believed that the latest round of recruitment in the water board had the blessings of the MQM.

The sources said that the seriousness of the matter could be gauged from the fact that the Sindh chief minister himself directed the KWSB managing director to suspend the notification without taking the local government minister onboard as he was in Larkana in connection with the slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s birth anniversary function.

However, a source close to Mr Durrani told Dawn that the issuance of the June 20 notification was a routine matter and in pursuance of the Sindh cabinet’s decision.

Requesting anonymity, a senior government official told Dawn that the decision of the Sindh cabinet regarding cancellation of all employments made by the caretaker government did not apply to appointments made in the district governments.

He said that under the constitution, the country has a three-tier system comprising federal, provincial and district governments and the caretaker governments were appointment in the federation and the provinces and not for the district governments.

The KWSB was part of the Karachi city government when the appointments in question were made. The local government minister became the chairman of the water utility when on April 24 the Sindh government reconstituted the board by separating it from the city government.