KARACHI: Disgruntled Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Dr Farooq Sattar and former Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ebad held a meeting in Dubai and agreed to take coordinated efforts to end what they described as a political vacuum in Karachi and Sindh.

The former governor has been living in the UAE after he resigned from office a couple of years back. He is in touch with various stakeholders, including leaderships of different factions of the once unified MQM advocating the need of reconciliation for the sake of the people of Karachi and urban areas of the province, Dawn learnt.

Dr Sattar, who once led the MQM-P after parting ways with London-based founder Altaf Hussain, is no longer part of the party currently led by Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui as he is heading his own faction, Organisation Restoration Committee.

A statement released by Dr Sattar-led faction did not mention the MQM-P or any other group by name even once.

“Dr Ebad and Dr Sattar agreed that a broader consensus among all stakeholders and a joint strategy is needed to end the increasing sense of deprivation among people of Karachi,” the statement said, adding: “They also stressed the need of forgetting the bitter memories and to set the future course of action in the larger interest of the nation.”

The statement said that both Dr Sattar and Dr Ebad decided to invite other people so that Karachi could play a much-needed national role.

They warned that Karachi’s political vacuum could be filled by anti-state, extremist forces if moderate and peaceful forces failed to overcome their differences to adopt a united stance.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2021