Brains behind the brawn: MQM forms council to give coordination committee a hand

The Central Executive Council includes MPAs, MNAs, journalists and even Sarfaraz Nawaz.

KARACHI:
The 42-member-strong Central Executive Council (CEC), a new organisational body within the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was formally introduced to the press on Sunday.

Envisaged as a think-tank of sorts, the concept of the CEC is inspired by the way political parties function in some countries. It will advise the party’s coordination committee and work on political issues.

The concept for the council was announced in March. The members, representing several provinces and areas of expertise, include Senators Babar Ghauri, Abdul Haseeb Khan, Tahir Mashhadi and Ahmed Ali, MNAs Haider Abbas Rizvi, Waseem Akhtar and Khushbakht Shujaat and MPAs and provincial ministers Faisal Subzwari and Syed Sardar Ahmed.

The diverse list also includes journalists and columnists. Ex-cricketer Sarfaraz Nawaz is part of the council as are prominent social figures from Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sindh, Balochistan and Parachinar in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

At a press conference held to announce the list of names, MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar explained that the CEC would assist the coordination committee in structuring the organisation of the party, policy issues, propagation of party policies. It will also help in the preparation of the party’s manifesto and the organisation party programmes.

The CEC will have no chief of its own and will be overseen by the coordination committee. MQM’s Wasay Jalil said that it will also be incorporated in the party’s internal process of selecting candidates to contest national and provincial assembly elections. The council will organise its own meetings and is to meet with the committee once every three months. The first meeting was scheduled to take place on Sunday after the press conference. Jalil also said that the party, which he claims is the most organised in Pakistan, has always adopted new ideas and strategies and the CEC’s formation was part of this constant innovation.

Sattar claimed that the council was an extension of the party’s vision to fight against feudalism, corrupt politics and the concept of “dynasty politics” as well as to include people from all sections and classes of society.

“The process of rights and justice that started from Karachi University will continue until it achieves its aims,” said Sattar in reference to the MQM’s origins and its leader Altaf Hussain.

The Central Executive Council

Ajmal Dehlvi

Sarfaraz Nawaz

Pir Farzand Ali Shah

Pir Ghulam Majaddid Sarhindi

Hakim Khan Hathi Khel

Senator Babar Khan Ghouri

Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi

Raja Azam Khan

Nighat Zehri

Barrister Habibur Rehman

Anwer Iqbal Baloch

Khushbakht Shujaat

Muhammad Tahir Khokhar

Dr Laila Perveen

Syed Shamshad Jafri

Senator Tahir Mashhadi

Senator Ahmed Ali


Senator Abdul Haseeb

Khawaja Sohail Mansoor

Waseem Akhter

Muhammad Adil Siddiqui

Abdur Rauf Siddiqui

Dr Ayub Shaikh

Ghulam Haider Rahu

Faisal Subzwari

Syed Shaheen Anwer Gillani

Syed Sardar Ahmed

Ghazi Salahuddin

Ahmed Salim Siddiqui

Nisar Ahmed Panhwar

Ponjomal Bheel Advocate

Rasheed Khan Maseeh

Heer Ismael Soho

Dr Arshad Hussain Vohra

Capt. Hadi Hussain

Zahid Awan Malik

Dr Shahzad Ali Shamshi

Bisma Asif Sukhaira

Long Khan Channa

Dr Noor Muhammad Shah

Tahira Asif

Shahid Hassan Shahsawar Toori Afghan

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2011.
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