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| August 04, 2007 | Saturday | Rajab 19, 1428 |
KARACHI: MQM leaders in exile may return for polls
KARACHI, Aug 3: As the general election draws near, all major political parties in the country gear up to enter the political battlefield with the best possible candidates and slogans.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has also expedited its preparations for the forthcoming general polls by intensifying the process of selection of suitable candidates and work to finalise the election manifesto.
Party sources told Dawn that the MQM had constituted two different committees, one to select potential candidates and covering candidates for the seats of the national and provincial assemblies and the other for the preparation of an election manifesto.
They said that in Karachi, the Muttahida held town-wise meetings in which party workers were asked to vote for the present MNAs and MPAs or any other worker or supporter for each constituency of the national and provincial assemblies in the city. Besides, interviews were also going on at the party’s headquarters Nine-Zero for the selection of suitable candidates.
Three names, the sources said, would be finalised from each constituency for the next general election but the final decision would be taken by the party’s coordination committee. It is learnt that the MQM is still firm in its decision to field candidates from various constituencies of the national and provincial assemblies across the country.
Sources said that most of the current legislators would be awarded party tickets for the second term but a number of new faces would replace some of the MNAs and MPAs, who had failed to improve their performance in the assemblies. Besides, some senior MQM leaders, who are in self-exile since long, are likely to return Pakistan to contest the next election.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement is all set to enter the election arena on the basis of an impressive manifesto with an election slogan “Empowerment for All”.
A ten-member committee for preparing election manifesto was formed by the MQM on June 19. Keeping in view the possibility of relatively early election, the committee, at that time, was asked to prepare the manifesto by July 15. However, the situation changed later and despite holding several meetings, the party missed its own deadline.
MQM leader Hyder Abbas Rizvi, who is one of the members of the 10-member committee, termed the manifesto preparation a gigantic task and said that it was the most important document and people living in urban localities read manifesto of all the parties and then decide to exercise their right to vote.
He said that the MQM manifesto, which was nearing completion, would cover issues of provincial autonomy, social sector development, economic uplift, preventive and curative healthcare facilities for all, elimination of class-based system from the country, micro credit, cooperative farming, etc.
Mr Rizvi, also a sitting MNA, said that the theme of the manifesto or the election slogan would be ‘Empowerment for All’, as the MQM had always raised its voice for the rights of the 98 per cent oppressed citizens of the country.
When asked what would be the MQM stance over the privatisation of state-owned entities in its manifesto, the MQM leader replied that this issue was under consideration and deliberations were going on.
He said that the manifesto committee would submit a draft document to the coordination committee by the end of the current month for its formal approval.
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