KARACHI: Former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday pulled Iftikhar Akbar Randhawa, member of Mutahidda Qaumi Movement's (MQM) coordination committee, into his newly-launched Pak Sarzameen Party.

At the start of the press conference, Kamal welcomed Randhawa to his political party.

"For the last few days, our former friends in the MQM are holding press conferences, and have tried unsuccessfully to mislead the people," said Kamal.

Kamal added that he does not blame the efforts being made by his former colleagues, and said 'their lies can not be camouflaged no matter how hard they try.'

Referring to Nadeem Nusrat's press conference in London, Kamal stated that Nusrat's press conference did not present any answers for the allegations levelled against him.

"Nusrat once again alleged that certain people from the country's intelligence agencies are calling MQM members," said Kamal while questioning the claim.

Kamal also gave a brief of the allegations levelled against MQM and its chief, he said, "It was MQM's members and chief who gave confessional statements to British law enforcement authorities, and they acknowledged the fact that they are receiving funding from Indian intelligence."

Kamal's revelations

Earlier in March, when Kamal returned to Pakistan, the MQM dissident unleashed a salvo of bombastic ‘revelations’ against party supremo Altaf Hussain, accusing him of deception, addressing workers while intoxicated and poor running of the MQM.

Since then, the former mayor of Karachi has pulled former MQM heavyweights Advocate Anis, Raza Haroon, Anis Kaimkhani, MPA Dr Sagheer, MPA Iftikhar Alam, Waseem Aftab, ex-senator Mohammad Ali Brohi, and most recently MPA Bilquis Mukhtar, into his party.

The Pak Sarzameen Party's name was announced on March 23 and since then the party has opened offices in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas.

Advocate Anis and Raza Haroon both have slammed Altaf Hussain, saying the MQM chief is the reason behind party members jumping ship. However, the MQM has denied all allegations regarding the 'minus-Altaf formula' and claims its workers are being 'forced to change loyalties'.

Kamal and his colleagues have not specifically denied these allegations or others that suggest the new party is being backed by 'certain quarters'.

A number of senior MQM members left the country suddenly around the time Kamal returned to Karachi, causing speculation as to the reasons behind their seemingly abrupt departure.