KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has announced that former Hyderabad nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil will be its candidate for by-election on National Assembly constituency (NA-246) in Karachi.

The announcement was made by MQM chief Altaf Hussain while speaking by phone from London to a workers’ meeting held at the Lal Qila ground near the party’s headquarters Nine Zero on Sunday.

The NA seat fell vacant after the resignation of MQM MNA Nabeel Gabol. The by-election on the constituency is scheduled to be held on April 23.

Mr Hussain asked the people living in Federal B Area and Liaquatabad — the areas that fall within the NA-246 constituency — to vote for the MQM candidate. “Don’t vote for the MQM candidate...vote for me, your brother Altaf Hussain,” he said.

Mr Hussain said Mr Jamil was a former nazim of Hyderabad and he had also remained member of the national and provincial assemblies.

He directed Mr Jamil to visit the NA-246 constituency without considering security threats and go to every nook and corner to listen to people’s grievances.

He asked the office-bearers and workers of his party to launch a door-to-door campaign and play an active role in resolving people’s problems.

He also asked them to seek forgiveness of people of Liaquatabad and Federal B Area for all their past mistakes.

Mr Hussain declared that there would be no room for criminal elements in the MQM. “If there is any criminal he should either leave the party or his anti-social activities... The MQM has nothing to do with criminals.”

He said he had suspended many members of his party and twice dissolved the Karachi Tanzeemi Committee and coordination committee for committing ‘mistakes’.

He assured the people that he would personally take action against any leader and worker, irrespective of his seniority, if he was found involved directly or indirectly in any illegal activity.

Referring to the civil disobedience call given by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan during his Islamabad sit-in, Mr Hussain said that private news channels had covered uninterruptedly the months-long sit-in on a daily basis but, he regretted, there were certain analysts, columnists and anchorpersons who did not like telecast of his speech for a mere one hour.

At the same meeting, Mr Hussain also announced MQM leader Waseem Akhtar would be head of the party’s central executive council. Aminul Haq and Tariq Javed would be deputy heads of the CEC, he added.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2015

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