KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan has decided to field a senior member of the party, Syed Arshad Hasan, as a candidate for Karachi’s deputy mayor in the election scheduled to be held on April 18.

The post of deputy mayor fell vacant after the Election Commission of Pakistan on March 13 disqualified Arshad Vohra for quitting the MQM-P and joining the Mustafa Kamal-led Pak Sarzameen Party.

The name of Mr Hasan was finalised by the party’s coordination committee which, sources said, decided to field a candidate having a long-term organisational background.

Mr Hasan has been elected chairman of a union committee in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, district East, and is currently serving as the chairman of the standing committee on land of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.

Born in 1964, he has been associated with the MQM for the past 30 years and has worked on different positions, including its election cell, central executive council, Karachi Tanzeemi Committee, etc. He is one of the members of the MQM-P’s coordination committee.

The MQM-P enjoys a majority in the City Council and it appears that Mr Hasan will sail through.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2019