MQM-Pakistan convenor Farooq Sattar. Photo: Geo News file

KARACHI: MQM-P convenor Farooq Sattar has rejected suggestions made by a Rabita Committee-nominated delegation to appease the upset leader, sources informed Geo News.  

Sattar, who abruptly left a party meeting on Monday over a disagreement on nominations of Senate candidates, also refused to call off a general workers' meeting to be held later today, sources said. 

According to information obtained by Geo News, the MQM-P leader also refused to visit the party's office in Bahadurabad and maintained his stance on giving Senate tickets to party members earlier nominated by him.   

MQM-P leader Faisal Subzwari had earlier today announced that a three-member delegation had been sent to Sattar to 'talk matters out.'

Faisal Subzwari pictured while addressing the media in Karachi on February 6, 2018. Photo: Geo News

 

"The Rabita Committee has given the mandate to a three-member delegation which includes Sardar Ahmad, Rauf Siddiqui, and Javed Hanif to discuss matters with Farooq bhai [brother]," he told the media. 

"In the past, Rabita Committee only made suggestions and decisions were made in London but now all decisions are made in Pakistan." 

Sattar, Khan call separate meetings

The rumoured division within the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) ranks had turned out to be fact than fiction as senior party leaders, Farooq Sattar and Amir Khan, have called separate meetings today.

Sattar has called a general workers' meeting today at KMC ground to decide the future course of action of the party, adding that he would speak on certain matters in the session that he never addressed before.

"I will inform about the obstructions I faced in making decisions for the past 15 months," he said.

MQM-P rift deepens: Rabita Committee revolts against Sattar over Senate tickets

MQM-P session ends in chaos as Farooq Sattar and Amir Khan disagreed with each other over the candidate names for Senate elections

Separately, Sattar said that party leaders who were part of the "illegal" meeting wherein they decided to suspend party leader Kamran Tessori from the party?s central decision-making body and revoke his party membership for six months, have been suspended and any decision they made rescinded until the general workers meeting scheduled today.

Meanwhile, MQM-P leader Aamir Khan has called a Raabita Committee meeting today ? to be chaired by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui ? at its Bahadurabad party office.

Earlier, Sattar in his address to media late night, Sattar said the party members were invited to Bahadurabad using his name and under false pretence.

"The Rabita Committee members who held a meeting and spoke to the media? this was a violation of the party rules and code of conduct. According to the party?s constitution, if I, as the convener, had ordered against holding this meeting, then it was illegal and unconstitutional."

'Sattar bhai remains our convener'

The party meeting ended in chaos as Sattar and senior leader Amir Khan disagreed with each other over the names of candidates for the Senate elections.

Following the disagreement, Sattar and his supporters left the Bahadurabad venue for his residence in PIB Colony amid chants in the party chief's favour.

"Kamran Tessori bhai is not a member of Rabita Committee anymore but Farooq Sattar bhai remains our convener," Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui announced, adding that Tessori "has also been suspended from the party for six months".

Siddiqui said the Rabita Committee had recommended six names for the Senate elections ? Nasreen Jalil, Farogh Nasim, Aminul Haque, Shabbir Qaimkhani, Amir Khan, and Kamran Tessori ? but Sattar insisted on "sacrificing two other leaders" to ensure Tessori's seat in the upper house of Parliament.

He was flanked by Waseem Akhtar, Faisal Sazbwari, Amir Khan, and other senior leaders at the press conference.

The Rabita Committee had accepted several of the party convener's wishes, Siddiqui said, noting that party workers would not let them go ahead with Tessori's nomination for the Senate seat.

A gold trader by profession, Tessori is a former member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) who joined MQM-P last year and quickly rose to prominence.

He also contested the PS-114 by-election for MQM-P against the Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Saeed Ghani but lost.