Discord in MQM-Pakistan ranks over award of tickets

Bahadurabad leaders are reported to have decided not to award tickets to high-profile leaders of the PIB group

KARACHI: Internal rifts still plague MQM-Pakistan’s ranks, even after its Bahadurabad and PIB Colony factions agreed to run as one in the upcoming general elections.

Award of tickets still remains a contentious issue between leaders of the two splinter groups.

Leaders within the PIB faction are still reluctant to support Farooq Sattar, giving rise to speculation that the party might again split after June 27.



Bahadurabad group’s leaders are reported to have decided not to award election tickets to high-profile leaders of the PIB group.

After the debacle during the Senate election, MQM-Pakistan might face fresh intra-party conflicts during the general polls, despite publicly vowing to fuse both groups into a single party.

During a joint press conference held on the eve of Eid, MQM leaders Farooq Sattar and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui announced the merging of the two factions for the upcoming general election.



Just after the press conference, the in-charge of the labour division of the PIB group, Kashif Engineer, released a video message, announcing that the party workers would not support Dr Farooq Sattar if the leadership decided to get him elected via the Bahadurabad platform.

In a discussion with Daily Express, deputy convener of the PIB faction Shahid Pasha accused the Bahadurabad group of resorting to favouritism in awarding tickets. Farooq Sattar, he said, was used to gain an edge and promote personal interests.

“Farooq Sattar is bowing before Bahadurabad for a handful of tickets,” he maintained.

“If he did not change his ways, we will stop supporting him.”

According to Pasha, MQM workers were worried when Sattar announced to use the Bahadurabad platform for contesting elections in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and other urban areas of Sindh.

“We will withdraw our support if Sattar contests the polls with the consent of Bahadurabad,” he warned.



According to sources within the PIB group, certain APMSO leaders had also expressed reservations against contesting elections with the consent of Bahadurabad.

“Top leaders of the Bahadurabad group have decided not to award election tickets to certain leaders of the PIB group,” sources said.

Sources said that the Bahadurabad group had finalised its nominations for the general election, but after Farooq Sattar submitted a different candidate list, it might introduce some changes.

“The Bahadurabad group may award tickets to Farooq Sattar and some others,” sources said, adding that leaders who had engaged in vitriolic diatribe would not be awarded election tickets “under any circumstances”.

In the meantime, Farooq Sattar is trying to persuade the Bahadurabad group to award the maximum number of tickets to nominees of the PIB group, contrary to the Bahaddurabad group’s election strategy.

Consequently, a fresh wave of intra-party disputes may emerge after June 27, deteriorating Farooq Sattar’s grip on the leadership of his own faction.

Sources said that Farooq Sattar was also trying to soften up hardliners within his own group amid all opposition.

“Farooq Sattar faced a strong opposition when he showed up at Bahadurabad for the press conference on Chaand Raat,” sources said.

PIB leaders, they said, supported his decision to re-merge both groups despite opposition from supporters.

According to sources, Farooq Sattar sought an election ticket for a “stable MQM seats” for Ali Raza Abidi, Abdul Wasim, Sheikh Salahuddin, Nighat Shakeel and others.

So far, however, the Bahadurabad group has not taken any decision in this regard.

Conflicts on the horizon may frustrate the candidacy of significant leaders who may subsequently quit the party, sources feared.\

However, a spokesman for the Bahadurabad group dispelled all such fears.

“MQM is and will always remain a single entity,” he maintained.

Some forces, he said, were trying to sabotage the unity within the party ranks.

He insisted that top party leaders, including Farooq Sattar, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Amir Khan, were adamant about fair distribution of election tickets.

“The leaders have vowed that there will be no discord on the award of tickets,” he said.

Decisions on the award of election tickets would be taken in the party’s, its supporters and people’s best interests.

Meanwhile, a leader of the PIB group, Ali Raza Abidi, refuted news reports regarding disagreements on the award of tickets.

Abidi said that no meeting had so far been held in this regard.

Reaffirming unity in the party ranks and an end to all misunderstandings, he insisted: “Election tickets must be awarded purely on the basis of merit no matter they belong to the PIB or Bahadurabad groups.”

Our Correspondent adds

Nomination papers of MQM-Pakistan leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan were rejected on Monday when it emerged that he had mistakenly submitted them from another constituency.

Hasan had filed nomination papers for NA-243 but mistakenly submitted them to the desk dealing with NA-242. The officer who received his form also overlooked the mistake and accepted the documents.

The RO advised the candidate that the matter could be resolved by an appropriate appellate forum.