Farooq Sattar quits MQM Rabita Committee over ‘personal reasons’

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Dr Farooq Sattar has resigned from the party’s Rabita Committee, the top decision making forum of the party.

Sattar said he resigned from the top body over ‘personal reasons’, and submitted his resignation to the party.

His resignation comes after a week when he publicly stated that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf offered him to contest the upcoming by-elections from  NA-247 on the party ticket.

“I am consulting my close friends over the offer,” he said while speaking to the media outside the ECP last week.

Sattar had lost the NA-247 seat to PTI candidate Dr Arif Alvi during the July 25 elections, but the seat fell vacant after Alvi’s election as the president.

Yesterday, the Election Commission of Pakistan dismissed the petition of Sattar for the provision of equal opportunities in general election and directed him to file new petition.

A two member tribunal of the ECP comprises Abdul Ghafoor Somroo and Altaf Ibraheem took up the case.

During the proceedings, Dr Farooq Sattar appeared before the tribunal and stated that his petition was of great importance.

He said that ECP has the authority to hold free, fair and transparent election under the constitution as the political parties spend billions of rupees to support their candidates in election and votes were purchased with power of money.

Arguing about recently general election 2018, the MQM leader said that votes were purchased in general election and how it is possible to establish democracy in such engineered election.

The tribunal also asked the ex-MQM convener to indentify specific constituencies before dismissing his petition after completion of arguments.