Farooq Sattar invites Miftah Ismail to join MQM-P

Dr Farooq Sattar, a senior leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), has extended an invitation to former finance minister Miftah Ismail to join the ranks of MQM-P, Express News reported on Sunday.

Miftah had previously stepped down from his role as the General Secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Sindh and relinquished all subsidiary party positions in June this year.

Miftah was openly critical of PML-N's economic policies, particularly after Ishaq Dar, a close confidante of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, assumed control of the finance ministry, with the backing of the party's top leadership, including Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz.

Read More: Miftah Ismail resigns from all PML-N positions

Reportedly, this replacement was prompted by dissatisfaction with Miftah Ismail's performance as finance minister in the coalition government led by PML-N.

Miftah Ismail expressed his grievances on various current affairs programmes and penned columns in leading newspapers. He offered comprehensive insights into the nation's economic affairs while criticising policies spanning the past 75 years, including the tenures of previous PML-N governments, though he refrained from directly implicating the party.

Read More: Miftah, Dar wash dirty linen in public

Miftah Ismail found like-minded individuals in former Pakistan Peoples Party leader and Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Together, they organised seminars and conventions aimed at proposing solutions to the tense political situation, fuelling speculation of a potential new political party formation.

The invitation from MQM-P leader Dr Farooq Sattar was extended during a meeting at Miftah Ismail's residence in Karachi, which took place two days ago.

Discussions during the meeting covered a wide range of critical topics, including ongoing economic and political crises, with particular focus on the situation in Karachi and the forthcoming general elections.

Dr Sattar emphasised the need to assemble a team of capable and committed individuals to address the challenges facing Pakistan, underlining that the nation's present circumstances require a unified national agenda to effectively tackle the country's issues.