Fall from favour?: Faisal Raza Abidi resigns from Senate

Sources say move comes after he was suspended following his refusal to visit Quetta as party troubleshooter.

KARACHI:

Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Faisal Raza Abidi resigned from his Senate membership on Wednesday. According to party sources, he has tendered his resignation to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who will refer it to the Senate secretariat.

While party leaders are yet to officially confirm Abidi’s resignation, sources requesting anonymity said that the Senator’s membership was suspended following the attack on the Hazara community in Quetta.

There were conflicting reports about the resignation, with one PPP leader in Karachi saying that Abidi was asked to go along with the PPP team to Quetta after the bomb blast but he had refused.



On the other hand, some reports suggested that he had developed differences with senior party leaders close to President Zardari, due to which he had been sidelined.

Despite many attempts, Abidi, who was one of the ardent defenders of President Zardari, did not attend his phone, but his media coordinator confirmed the news, saying “He has resigned today following differences with party leadership, but I cannot further comment on it.” He also dispelled the impression that Abidi would join another party.

PPP leaders were not willing to speak on record about the recent development. PPP Sindh Information Secretary Waqar Mehdi said, “I have also learnt through the media about his resignation and have no idea what prompted him to resign” he said.

A few weeks ago, while talking to The Express Tribune, Abidi cited health issues as a reason for his resignation as Karachi division president.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2013.