MQM-P raises serious objection to fresh delimitation

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqi said on Monday that it was important that the upcoming general elections were not only transparent but those must be seen as transparent.

Talking to the media persons after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja in Islamabad, Siddiqi warned that if the elections in February 2024, were held same as those in 2018, the country's economic, political and social crises would increase.

“The date of the general elections in Pakistan has been announced. It is important that the general elections are held not only transparently but those must be seen as being held transparently,” Siddiqi told reporters.

On the occasion, Siddiqi was critical of the caretaker Sindh government. “Caretaker governments have been established as per the Constitution across the country, but in Sindh, the caretaker government is still run by former ministers of PPP [Pakistan Peoples Party],” he alleged.

“We are still waiting for [an actual] caretaker government in Sindh. There is an impression that the caretaker government of Sindh is the caretaker of the wishes and interests of the PPP,” the MQM-P convener said.

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Siddiqi expressed reservation on the fresh delimitation of the constituencies by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), accusing the poll supervisor of ignoring his party’s objections. He also charged the PPP with dividing the province on ethnic lines.

“Constituencies in Sindh are a clear proof of the nexus of the Sindh Election Commission and Peoples Party. The staff of the Election Commission in Sindh are the sworn workers of the People's Party,” Siddiqi claimed.

“Election Commission Sindh did not seriously consider the objections raise by any party, including MQM-P regarding the [delimitation of the] constituencies. “The Peoples Party has divided Sindh linguistically, electorally and politically.”

On the occasion, MQM-P Senior Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar said it seems that the PPP had reached the Election Commission of Sindh. “Not a single objection of the MQM was accepted by the Election Commission of Sindh but all the objections of the Peoples Party were accepted,” he continued.

“All urban areas, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah, have been illegally divided,” he said, adding that “after so much injustice in revamping the constituencies, what to talk about the level-playing field?”