Forlorn MQM-P hints at quitting unity govt

Waseem Akhtar says delimitation, flawed voter lists, other tactics being used against his party

After witnessing no progress in the implementation of the political deal with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Waseem Akhtar hinted at quitting the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government and asked the unity government to review its policies with regard to their commitments with them.

The senior MQM-P leader, talking to the media during an event to welcome nearly 250 political activists back into the MQM-P, gave a clear message to the coalition government, saying that the MQM-P would be independent in making decisions if political agreements were not implemented.

He added that the MQM-P Rabita Committee would make a big decision on any option: whether to leave the government’s side or continue supporting it. “The MQM is struggling for the rights of the urban Sindh and highlighting the atrocities before the current rulers. These atrocities continued to hit the MQM vote bank.”

Waseem said that delimitation, flawed voter lists and other tactics were being used against the MQM-P. He asked the federal and provincial governments to review their policies. He said that the MQM-P wanted the elimination of a 40 per cent quota, as government jobs were being given through fake domiciles.

The former city mayor said that whoever chose to leave the MQM-P lost political weight. He invited all MQM-P dissidents to return to the party fold to work for the future. “We had signed an agreement with the PPP on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Moulana Fazlur Rehman,” he said and added that they had also signed political agreements with former president Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Hanif Samoon is a senior journalist based at Thar/Badin and contributes reports from different districts of Sindh to Minute Mirror. He has won a number of awards, including the Agahi Award twice for his stories on health and child rights. He tweets @HanifSamoon1 and can be reached through email at [email protected]

Comments are closed.