KARACHI: Within a span of a few hours, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) chief Farooq Sattar withdrew his earlier decision to resign from the party and practical politics, ARY News reported on Thursday.
“My mother ordered me to continue serving the party, country and its people. To fulfil her wishes, I take my decision back,” Sattar told party workers and supporters outside his residence during the second presser in three hours.
Sattar also assured his party workers and leaders that he and his fellow leaders will contest elections from MQM-Pakistan’s name and the electoral symbol of Kite to clear the ambiguity after his November 8 announcement of an alliance with rival PSP.
Sources say that Sattar’s mother and senior party leader Amir Khan persuaded him to take back his resignation as party workers and leaders protested outside his residence.
Sattar, in his first presser, was clarifying that his November 8 announcement of an alliance with rival Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) wasn’t a merger as claimed by PSP chief Mustafa Kamal, soon announced his resignation from the party and practical politics.
MQM-P chief narrated his whole journey into politics and his sacrifices for the party before announcing his resignation. The announcement shocked all and MQM leaders attending the press conference stopped him from addressing media and started persuading him to take back his resignation.
While announcing his resignation, Sattar maintained that he took all his aides and party leaders into confidence before the announcement of an alliance with PSP but none of them came forward to defend him in the presser after today’s party meeting which Sattar did not attend.
Sattar earlier explained that the announcement of an alliance with rival PSP was to save people of Karachi’s vote bank from division and to achieve long-lasting peace between two parties but “sadly Mustafa Kamal didn’t say a word about reconciliation” which saddened him.
“Mustafa Kamal wants to bury MQM’s name and politics. How can he bury a party which has mandate and support of people of Karachi?” asked Farooq Sattar.
Expressing anger at Kamal’s behaviour, he instead invited PSP leaders to join MQM-Pakistan.
It’s a merger, says Mustafa Kamal about MQM-PSP alliance
The MQM-P chief maintained that the intention behind November 8 presser was to bury the politics of hate and violence in Karachi and to educate MQM-P workers to respect rival political party’s workers.
He challenged PSP chief-who wants to shun ethnicity-based politics- to win a single seat from Peshawar, Larkana or Lahore with his brand of “inclusive politics” and he (Sattar) and his party will itself shun its politics.
Sattar claimed that Mohajirs are still facing discrimination while trying to get government jobs but Mustafa Kamal is not ready to voice his concern over this injustice with Mohajirs.
‘Merger’ or ‘Alliance’
It is pertinent to note here that on November 8, Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement- Pakistan (MQM-P) announced to form a political alliance and vowed to contest next general elections under “one banner, name, manifesto and electoral symbol.
Addressing a joint press conference at Karachi Press Club, MQM-P chief and PSP chief Mustafa Kamal announced what Kamal terms a “merger: of the two parties who were once a part of Altaf Hussain-led MQM.
“To solve problems of people of Karachi through collective efforts and to further our agenda of non-violence, we have decided to form a political alliance. We will decide the name and modalities of this alliance in future but one thing is for sure, we will contest next general elections under one name, one banner, one manifesto and one electoral symbol,” Farooq Sattar had said.
Sattar maintained that the modalities of this alliance will be crafted after meetings between the two parties.
MQM-P, PSP form political alliance, vow to contest polls under one name, banner and electoral symbol
Upon his turn, Kamal said that ethnicity-based politics as it will only harm people of Karachi and will further divide the various communities living in the city so he “will not resort to Mohajir politics for the sake of Mohajirs”.
“Whatever the name of this alliance, it will not be MQM,” Mustafa Kamal assured all.
Today, in an interview with ARY News, Kamal categorically said that the presser was not regarding an alliance but a complete “merger” as he believes that MQM is not Farooq Sattar but founder Altaf Hussain’s party.
However, a number of MQM-Pakistan leaders later said that it will only be an electoral alliance and MQM-P will not shed its name or electoral symbol and keep its distinct identity.
 chief Farooq Sattar on Thursday announced resignation from his party and politics, ARY News reported.){kind=link}