The Muttahida Qaumi Movement yesterday announced it was withdrawing support to the four-day-old government of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, raising the possibility of Jamali's government becoming the shortest in Pakistan's history; it's a dubious distinction it could well share with that of I.I. Chundrigar's in the 50s.

The ethnic group, which represents the immigrant Mohajir community said yesterday that its 17 MNAs would sit in the opposition as the authorities have not acted against several neighbourhoods of the restive port city of Karachi.

Muttahida leader Farooq Sattar said Jamali had failed to honour promises he made to the group. "Jamali's government can't solve our problems," Sattar said.

"Therefore, we decided to sit on opposition benches, for the sake of democracy and to solve our electorate's problems."

Muttahida Qaumi Movement announcement to sit on the opposition benches has come as the first major blow to the coalition government of Jamali, elected as the leader of the house and prime minister with the simple majority of just one vote.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement lawmakers in the National Assembly voted for Jamali, who has to face a vote of confidence from the parliament in two months.

If the federal government fails to win back the Muttahida's support or force defections in other rival parties, the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam-led government looks set to fall.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which dominates the urban centres of Sindh, made the shock announcement yesterday at a press conference at the party headquarters called Nine-Zero, just a day ahead of the inaugural session of the Sindh Provincial Assembly.

Observer say the Muttahida announcement could be a ploy to extract more concessions from Jamali's fragile government as the PML-QA is seeking to forge a coalition government in Sindh province.

Political analysts say that if the deadlock persists and the establishment fails to win back the MQM support, it could not just bring the government down at the centre, it would make government formation in Sindh impossible.

Sattar, deputy convener of the MQM, said that the party has been forced to take the decision of withdrawing its support to the coalition government because the authorities have failed to honour their commitment regarding the so-called "no-go areas."

The neighbourhoods - Landhi, Malir, Shah Faisal Colony and Lines Area - which are controlled by the rival group, the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, are called no-go areas because the workers and leaders of the mainstream Muttahida party were denied entry for the last 10 years.

"Despite the repeated assurances from President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and his close associates, the authorities failed to take action against the leaders of the dissidents to end their dominance of those neighbourhoods, he said.

But the dissident faction denied the charges, saying that the Muttahida leaders are trying to "blackmail" the government to get what they want and crush their opponents.

Amir Khan, a central leader of the dissidents, said that his supporters have not indulged in violence. "Our offices are still sealed and the para-military Rangers and police are deployed there. We have not returned to these areas to take charge," he said by telephone from his hideout.

"The Muttahida has failed to serve its voters and is now bent upon losing another opportunity because of its inflexible and confrontationist politics," he said.