KARACHI, Dec 25: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) failed to reach an understanding on seat adjustment for five provincial assembly and one National Assembly constituencies in Karachi after talks on Tuesday.
In other areas of Sindh, candidates of both parties will face each other on four National Assembly and 10 provincial assembly seats. However, accords on the rest of the seats have been reached.
The PML-Q, PML-F and the NPP would support the MQM on 22 National Assembly seats while the MQM would support its allies on 34 National Assembly seats.
MQM candidates would be backed by the PML-Q and the PML-F on 44 provincial assembly seats while the MQM would withdraw its candidates and support the nominees of the two allies on 71 provincial assembly seats.
A press conference to announce what former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim called “a friendly election adjustment” was held here on Tuesday at the Karachi Press Club. The MQM’s deputy convener, Dr Farooq Sattar, announced the details.
Sources said that the MQM had tried to persuade the PML-Q to withdraw its candidates from constituencies in Karachi, but despite the willingness of the provincial leadership, the party’s candidates refused to withdraw their papers.
The sources quoted the candidates as saying that they would run as independents if denied tickets by the PML-Q.
Addressing the press conference, Dr Sattar claimed that MQM, PML-Q, Pir Pagara-led PML-Functional and Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi-led National People’s Party had agreed on seat-adjustment in the province.
He, however, said that MQM had fielded its candidates on all 20 National Assembly and 42 provincial assembly seats in Karachi, but five provincial assembly seats (PS-89, PS-90, PS-93, PS-114 and PS-126) and one National Assembly seat (NA-239) were open for all allied parties. Rest of the party candidates would be supported by the allies, he added.
He said that the allies would support MQM by not fielding their candidates on NA-219 and NA-220 (Hyderabad), NA-226 (Mirpurkhas), PS-1 Sukkur, PS-24 Nawabshah, PS-45, PS-46, PS-48, PS-49 Hyderabad, and PS-64 Mirpurkhas seats. However, he said that four NA seats (NA-204 in Larkana, NA-207 in Qambar-Shahdadkot, NA-218 in Matiari and NA-231 in Jamshoro) and 10 provincial assembly seats (PS-11, PS-21, PS-34, PS-36, PS-38, PS-40, PS-43, PS-47, PS-71 and PS-86) would be contested by all parties.
He said that the two parties were trying to reach a similar adjustment in Punjab.
Former chief minister Arbab Rahim said that the alliance had the support of MQM leader Altaf Hussain, Pir Pagara and Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi.
He expressed confidence about the allied parties success against the Pakistan People’s Party.
The two leaders were accompanied by MQM’s Babar Ghauri and PML-Q’s Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi. However, the press conference was not attended by any representative of the PML-F or the NPP.
KARACHI, Dec 25: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) failed to reach an understanding on seat adjustment for five provincial assembly and one National Assembly constituencies in Karachi after talks on Tuesday.
