MQM-P's intra-party polling ends, counting underway in Karachi

KARACHI: The intra-party polling of Dr Farooq Sattar-led faction of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) came to an end on Sunday evening at Karachi’s KMC ground. 

Presently, the counting of votes is underway at the venue.

In the wake of the MQM-P Bahadurabad faction’s move to remove him as its chief, Dr Sattar dissolved the Coordination Committee and announced to hold intra-party elections to elect new party head.

The MQM-P split into two factions – Dr Sattar-led PIB and Amir Khan-led Bahadurabad, over the issue of party tickets for the upcoming Senate elections.

Meanwhile, the Bahadurabad faction has declared the intra-party elections illegal and unconstitutional, urging workers to frustrate the attempts to divide the party by displaying unity in their rank and file.

Levelling a number of allegations, the Bahadurabad faction removed Farooq Sattar as party convener.

“With a heavy heart, we, the coordination committee members, announce to sack Farooq Sattar as the party convener. He is no more MQM-P convener. He is just a party worker now,” announced Deputy Convener MQM-P Kunwar Naveed Jamil in a press conference.

Farooq Sattar said he also had a “charge sheet” against the coordination committee members. He said they had set a record of violating the party constitution.

“Since February 5, they were repeatedly calling unconstitutional meetings. They also made serious violations of Pakistan’s election laws. They sent nobody a show-cause notice and removed anybody from the party as and when they wanted,” he said.

He said it was time to remove “feudal lords” from the party. If they had the bottle to make a new party, so make it, he added.

“I want to make MQM-P an ideological party of 1986. We will not go for a collision, but struggle pacifically,” he said.