Leadership of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan has convened a meeting of all its parliamentarians - national, provincial and Senate - on Friday (today) in Karachi subsequent to the statement by Convener MQM London, Nadeem Nusrat, directing all MQM parliamentarians to resign on Wednesday. MQM Pakistan will discuss the MQM London's directive and formulate a strategy to strengthen the party's organisational structure.
Nusrat had stated that "If they want to disengage themselves from the Founder then they should resign from their positions because the mandate they claim is of MQM's Founder." A party source told Business Recorder that Farooq Sattar-led party has been facing serious internal dissent with party members unclear about each other's loyalty.
"Some party members including parliamentarians may resign in the coming days following the London statement," he said, adding that Sattar had been trying to strengthen the party ranks. Following Nadeem Nusrat's statement, MQM MNA Sufyan Yousuf sent his resignation letter to London Secretariat on Thursday for approval and the party sources said that more might come in the coming days. Yousuf was elected from NA-247 (Karachi-IX), an MQM stronghold. Sattar has, however, rejected Nusrat's demand for resignations and insisted that "we have disengaged ourselves from MQM London and party members are working with the same passion."
A senior party source on condition of anonymity revealed to Business Recorder that while Sattar has the support of the majority of MQM parliamentarians yet some leading and critical party workers were still in touch with the London office and it would be a major challenge for Sattar to get support of these workers who play an instrumental role in elections.
He further contended that some of the party workers had adopted a "wait and see" policy, and were keenly looking at all the developments both in Pakistan and London. He acknowledged that the party's London office was facing serious financial problems with the source of funds from Pakistan all but dried up. That had prompted MQM-London to consider moving its international secretariat from Elizabeth House to a nearby small residential property owned by the party, he said. MQM Senator Nasreen Jalil told Business Recorder that all parliamentarians of the party were united under the leadership of Farooq Sattar and maintained that they "do not follow staatements from London anymore" "We will neither tender our resignations from parliament, nor accept dictation from London," she said, adding that efforts had already started to reorganise the party in Karachi and interior Sindh.