Dr. Farooq Sattar, one of the founding members of MQM-P, has expressed his disappointment at the party’s decision to go against PTI. Talking to a private media channel, Farooq Sattar said MQM-P did not fully play its political role.
To clarify, on March 30th, MQM-P formally broke ranks with the then PTI-led coalition government and joined the Opposition. Party convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui made the announcement at a press conference in Islamabad alongside leaders of the joint opposition. Furthermore, federal ministers from MQM-P also resigned from their posts.
The move came as a surprise as earlier, MQM-P had expressed support for PTI ahead of the no-confidence motion. However, as MQM-P joined the Opposition, it led to PTI losing the majority in the National Assembly.
Read more: Federal ministers resign as MQM-P parts ways with govt
Regarding MQM-P’s decision, Farooq Sattar said the party used to play a political role. Before leaving any government, the party used to protest and would mobilize the public first. After resigning from the ministries, then it would go for the no-confidence motion, Farooq Sattar explained.
“There are some rules of maintaining relations,” the MQM-P leader said. He said MQM-P did not leave any ministries, yet it kept negotiating for more other ministries.
“This was extreme moral bankruptcy,” Farooq Sattar claimed. “It is shameful. Those are not the ethics of the Muhajir. Our ethics lie in our political role.”
Farooq Sattar also said if MQM-P had any differences, then it should have told PTI at least 6 months earlier. What Farooq Sattar meant to say was it politically unethical of MQM-P to abruptly abandon PTI. It should have given a warning first which would have supported its decision of going against the government.
Tough time for MQM-P?
In a recent interview, MQM-P leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said his party was never consulted in important matters. He also noted that through this step, the party may have lost some of its support base. This is indeed true as MQM-P faced public backlash for its decision.
Regarding this, a video of an MQM-P leader getting slammed by the public went viral on social media. According to details, some citizens confronted MQM-P’s Kanwar Naveed Jameel at Islamabad International Airport.
Read more: Watch: MQM-P leader gets schooled by public
The men said they supported MQM-P, however, the party let them down. They gathered around him and chanted slogans against him. During the confrontation, the men called the MQM-P leader “turncoats”. They also accused him of betraying Pakistan and accepting bribes from the Opposition.