KARACHI: Expressing no confidence in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain said on Saturday the delimitation of 11 constituencies in Karachi was a “conspiracy to divide the vote bank” of his party.

According to an MQM statement, Mr Hussain declared that workers and supporters of his party would not allow the conspiracy to succeed.

Mr Hussain was talking to members of his party’s coordination committee by phone from London.

He accused the ECP of taking discriminatory action against the people of Karachi. “People are forced to question the neutrality and impartiality of the ECP as it is taking illegal and unconstitutional steps,” the statement quoted Mr Hussain as saying.

Referring to the East Pakistan debacle, he said no lesson was learnt from the past and that was the reason why the country “was moving towards disintegration”.

He warned that if “unfair policies are not changed by taking lesson from the past, it will be highly detrimental to the country”.

Mr Hussain directed members of the MQM’s coordination committee to inform people about “conspiracies being hatched against the party”.

He said the MQM had democratic right to protest against bids to steal its mandate.

The MQM chief said coming days could be difficult and hence people should remain united to face the situation.

The ECP on Friday notified the delimitation of three National Assembly and eight Sindh Assembly constituencies. Two of the three NA seats and seven of the eight provincial assembly seats were won by the MQM in the 2008 general elections.