Sattar challenges revocation of party membership in SHC

KARACHI: Mutahidda Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar has challenged cancellation of his party membership in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday, ARY News reported.

Sattar, who approached the court this morning, contended in his plea that his quashing of his membership was in contravention of the Election Act and party rules.

He said no legal formalities were fulfilled to cancel his membership. He said the order issued for his membership was only signed by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, while it’s mandatory under party rules to have say of two-third majority of the Rabita Committee, party’s decision making body.

On November 9, 2018 Sattar was shown the door by the party’s coordination committee. His membership was revoked for violating party discipline and constitution.

In June 2018, the Islamabad High Court announced its verdict declaring Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui as convener of Mutahidda Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in a jolt to senior party leader Farooq Sattar.

Sattar had approached the IHC against the election commission decision removing him as party convener in March last year.

On March 26, the ECP had given a verdict against Sattar in the wake of a rift within the party over the nomination of Kamran Tessori for a Senate seat. The controversy over Tessori practically divided the party into Satter-led PIB group and Siddiqui-led Bahadurabad group.

The Bahadurabad faction later filed petitions in the ECP, seeking removal of Sattar as convener with the argument that the party’s Rabita Committee had replaced him with Siddiqui by a two-thirds majority. It also challenged the Feb 18 intra-party polls which Sattar had won with a heavy margin.