Siddiqui appointed MQM-P chairman

Decision made during party’s central committee meeting

KARACHI:

The MQM-P on Sunday unanimously appointed its convener, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, as the party’s chairman, in a sign that it was further drifting away from its founder’s influence.

According to a spokesperson for the MQM-P, the party’s central committee held a meeting at Pakistan House presided over by Siddiqui.

He added that the huddle was attended by party leaders Mustafa Kamal, Dr Farooq Sattar, Nasreen Jalil, Anis Kaimkhani, Faisal Subzwari Aminul Haque and Rizwan Babar.

The participants of the meeting decided to abolish the post of the convener and reinstated its earlier structure comprising of a chairman, vice chairman and secretary generals.

The members of the core committee then unanimously elected Siddiqui as the party’s chairman.
They also decided to form a high-level central council for dealing with organisational matters and assisting with political affairs.

Read 17 years on, wounds of May 12 still fresh: MQM-P chairman

The MQM-P spokesperson said the names of the members of the central council would be announced soon.

In March this year, the MQM-P dissolved its coordination committee as part of a “reorganisation initiative” and announced a seven-member ad-hoc body headed by Siddiqui to oversee the party’s affairs.

However, insiders said that the actual reason behind the move was two audio leaks, one featuring Kamal and the other Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori -- also an MQM-P leader.

Kamal had alleged that a member of the coordination committee was responsible for the leaks.