The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's (MQM-P) Dr Farooq Sattar-led group approached the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday and submitted details of several resolutions and decisions taken in the workers' convention of the party.

MQM-P leader Ahsan Iqbal Qadri, on behalf of Dr Farooq Sattar, also submitted a letter and a resolution passed by the party's general worker assembly on February 11. According to the letter, a copy of which is available with DawnNews, the general working meeting called by Farooq Sattar on February 11 was under article 13-A of the party's Constitution.

According to the letter, article-6 of the party's constitution reads: "The general working meeting is considered as the General Assembly of the Party with powers to allow or regularise adhoc and interim changes in the organisation or party structure and inclusion or removal of any office bearer."

The letter maintained that the February 11 meeting called by Farooq Sattar falls under article 6 of the constitution and the resolution passed in the meeting sets the future course of the party. According to what the letter termed the "gist of the unanimously passed resolution", the meeting called by "the Rabita Committee on February 11, 2018, at Bahadurabad, Karachi was illegal" and subsequently, so were all the resolutions passed there.

In the light of the said assembly, the document claimed, Dr Farooq Sattar will remain convener of the party until fresh intra-party elections are held on February 17, while the Rabita Committee stands dissolved as per the order of the convener.

Widening rift

The rift between Dr Sattar and the party's coordination committee emerged when the convener in a meeting nominated Kamran Tessori for March 3 Senate elections and the committee strongly rejected the move.

After a very public tussle over the party tickets, MQM-P's coordination committee members on Sunday announced that they had removed the party head, Dr Farooq Sattar, and appointed MNA Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui in his place as the new convener.

However, Dr Sattar had struck back by dissolving the coordination committee and announced holding intra-party elections on Feb 17.