KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar on Friday summoned party leaders for a consultative meeting over upcoming Senate elections at PIB office.
In the meeting ended in wee hours of Friday, Sattar directed the party’s National Assembly members to remain in Islamabad to cast their votes in the Senate elections to be held on March 3.
Earlier, on March 1, Sattar challenged the jurisdiction of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hear a petition against convenership of MQM-P.
The conflicts inside the party emerged over the distribution of Senate tickets and the party divided into two factions-Sattar-led PIB group and Rabita Committee-led Bahadurabad group. Farooq Sattar wanted to give the ticket to newcomer Kamran Tessori but Rabita Committee opposed the decision.
In his petition, Sattar has argued that ECP does not hold jurisdiction to hear internal issues of a political party. He requested ECP to dismiss the petition of Bahadurabad group.
While talking to media outside ECP, Sattar said that MQM-P belongs to party’s workers and only they can decide the fate of the party.
“The workers have given their verdict in intra-party elections,” Sattar added. “I even offered the Bahadurabad group to sit and resolve the issues through negotiations but it was Khalid Maqbool Siddique who approached the ECP to challenge my constitutional position in the party,” he said.