Empty Seat: MQM nominates PS-117 candidate

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has named a retired army officer and brother of a slain worker as the candidate for PS-117, the seat vacated by Dr Sagheer Ahmed. Qamar Abbas, a retired major, will be the party’s candidate for PS-117, said Rabita Committee member and party spokesperson Aminul Haque. “The seat has been given on merit to Qamar because he is a brother of a slain worker and we take care of our martyrs’ families.” PS-117, which comprises parts of PIB area, fell vacant after Dr Ahmed left the MQM and joined Pak Sarzameen Party. Abbas’s brother Yawar was allegedly picked up by law enforcers from his home in Ghousia Colony in November 2013. Three months later, his body was recovered from a Hyderabad graveyard after being buried as an unidentified person. The by-elections for PS-117 along with PS-106 are scheduled for June 2.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2016.