MQM-P is threatening to leave the coalition over this issue. PML-N contacts party after being warned; party will meet with its staff today to discuss its problems with the Karachi elections.
LAHORE/KARACHI: The MQM-P on Sunday issued a warning that if the second round of Karachi’s local government elections were held with the current constituencies in place, it will withdraw from the ruling coalition.
Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, the party’s convener, stated during a press conference at the MQM-headquarters P’s in Karachi’s Bahadurabad neighbourhood that media sources suggested LG votes in the city of Sindh, encompassing the divisions of Karachi and Hyderabad, would take place on January 15.
He continued by saying that as long as the party’s demand for the creation of new constituencies in the city was granted, the party would be prepared for the LG elections, even if they were held on January 10.
The MQM-P and the PPP had in-depth discussions and agreements on a number of Sindh-related issues in the province, particularly the constituencies in its urban centres, despite the fact that the MQM-P was not a formal ally of the PPP, Siddiqui continued in his statement to the media.
He bemoaned the fact that the province’s constituency delimitations had broken both the law and the Constitution.
There are 90,000 union councils [where the MQM-P was dominant] in some places, compared to 30,000 in others. The PPP itself and the leadership of other parties have both acknowledged this fact. Pre-poll rigging has already occurred, he continued.
The MQM-P convener argued that during the course of the previous eight months, his party has raised the subject of the constituencies in the Hyderabad and Karachi divisions numerous times.
He claimed that the party had voiced its concerns to the Chief Justice of Pakistan after even approaching the Supreme Court about the issue.
In Karachi and other province urban regions, he emphasised the importance of fair and transparent LG elections.
Before the LG elections, the MQM leader demanded that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) conduct a new delimitation of constituencies in certain areas.
He added that the party will move to the streets if the constituencies were not fixed.
The MQM-P leader announced that he would call a meeting of the general activists of the party and present the information to them.
The choice of contesting these polls while still serving in the [coalition] administration rests with the party workers, he continued.
He insisted that none of the agreements established with the MQM-P and ratified by the heads of the coalition parties had been upheld, making it harder for the organisation to urge its activists to exercise patience.
He questioned how, in the absence of neutrality, the LG elections could be conducted peacefully.
Despite the fact that it was a “unconstitutional” action, Siddiqui questioned the ECP on why it had given the PPP-led Sindh government the authority to carry out the delimitation of constituencies.
He declared that the party would present its argument to the ECP and higher courts in Islamabad.
The MQM-P convener also urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to address the issue of why the LG elections in Sindh were consistently postponed.
He gave the prime minister 24 hours to address the complaints of his party.
He said, “I want to question the prime minister what happened to those agreements you signed with us if he is listening to this news conference.
Siddiqui also asked the PPP leadership about the promises it had made to his party.
Residents of Karachi would not accept the results if the constituencies were not rectified before the LG votes on December 15.
The coordination committee of the MQM-P has called a meeting of the party’s office-holders and volunteers for Tuesday (tomorrow), at which it will be decided whether to continue supporting the government coalition or leave it.
Aminul Haque, the MQM-minister P’s of information technology, called PML-N leader and federal minister Ayaz Sadiq after Siddiqui’s warning and promised him that his party’s concerns would be taken into consideration.
The written agreement the MQM-P signed with the government will undoubtedly advance when a group led by Haque met Sadiq on Monday (today), according to sources.
After visiting the shrine of the Sufi saint Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori told the media in Lahore that the PPP should uphold the arrangement it had made with his party.
He continued, “Otherwise, the MQM-P is free to make its own decision,” alluding to the party’s threat to leave the government coalition.
The governor claimed he had discussed the issues with the prime minister on behalf of his party.
He continued by saying that he will also discuss the situation with the PPP leadership.
Tessori continued by claiming that in exchange for his prayers, the MQM-P had given him the opportunity to become a governor.
According to him, Altaf Hussain, the founder of the MQM, and the State were at odds. “As governor, my loyalty is to the State,” he continued.
The governor continued by saying that he had visited the Data Ganj Bakhsh temple to show his gratitude and that words could not capture the happiness he felt there.
