Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: As political jockeying continues following the July 25 general elections, the role of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-Pakistan) has become crucial with major parties wooing it for support to form government in the centre.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader and former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair met the MQM-P at its Bahadurabad office on Monday. Speaking to media after the meeting, Zubair remarked that the two parties will continue to stay in the touch in the coming days, adding that MQM-P also has reservations regarding the way elections were conducted in the country.

Regarding the meeting, he revealed that the representatives of the two parties discussed the situation in Sindh, especially Karachi, alongside the political scenario which has emerged following the recently held general elections.

Meanwhile, a PTI delegation led by Jahangir Tareen visited MQM-P’s Bahadurabad office to seek support. PTI delegation included Firdaus Shamim Naqvi, Imran Ismail and Haleem Adil Siddiqui. According to sources, MQM-P put forward its demands before the PTI leaders to get its six-member support in the Lower House of parliament. The demand includes Karachi Package, constitutional amendment for empowered local bodies, administrative units for the urban Sindh, community police and mass transit in Karachi.

Separately, MQM-P leader Faisal Sabzwari has alleged that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was itself involved in rigging in the general elections. “The failure of the result transmission system shows that ECP remained unsuccessful in its task of holding a free, fair and transparent election,” he said.

“People whose own party wouldn’t vote for them have won the election. How is this possible?” Sabzwari asked. With regards to Form-45, he questioned, “Where was it filled? Who knows where it was filled as polling agents weren’t present at the time votes were being counted.”

Published in Daily Times, July 31^st 2018.