KARACHI: Is the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan going to boycott the Feb 8 general elections? The million-dollar question arises after party convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui hinted at the possibility during his speech at a workers’ convention late on Saturday night.

In a thinly veiled reference to the alleged support to the Pakistan Peoples’ Party from the election authorities as well as certain quarters and perturbed at its own organisational weaknesses, the MQM-P convener informed the convention that a ‘conspiracy’ had been hatched to snatch the mandate of the metropolis.

“Karachi will present a deserted look if the MQM, after watching the government machinery sabotaging the election process, showed unity and once again stage a boycott [of polls],” an MQM-P statement quoted Dr Siddiqui as telling his workers.

While the MQM-P had been winning majority seats in the previous general elections amid widespread allegations of rigging by its opponents, it had suffered a major blow in the 2018 general elections when it secured only four out of 21 National Assembly seats in Karachi.

And in January 2023, the MQM-P boycotted the local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad just a couple of days before the day of polling.

Several PPP leaders have already predicted that the MQM-P would boycott the general elections on one pretext or the other. The PPP has challenged the MQM-P on many Karachi constituencies and it successfully lured its several former and disgruntled leaders into its fold.

Differences over finalisation of candidates

The latest remarks by the MQM-P chief baffled not only party workers, but also several members of the party’s coordination committee who were present in the convention and appeared visibly disturbed.

Dawn contacted many senior leaders but none of them was willing to speak on the record. They were also not fully aware of the actual reason behind Dr Siddiqui’s statement but suspected that it might be linked with the country’s political situation as well as the organisational problems. While the PPP already announced its candidates for Sindh’s national and provincial assembly seats, they said that the MQM-P was still holding deliberations to finalise a consensus list of candidates.

They said that currently the party was facing an internal crisis over distribution of tickets of the national and provincial assembly seats, especially in the constituencies considered as ‘safe’.

They said that those who came from the Pak Sarzameen Party and the group led by Dr Farooq Sattar in the MQM-P following the last year merger had filed multiple nomination papers and wanted their own loyalists to be awarded party tickets and that too from the constituencies in districts Central, Korangi and West.

Several meetings had been held but no final decision has been taken despite the fact that the last date of withdrawal of candidates is fast approaching, they said, adding that the situation has compelled the establishment to intervene and it is now clear that the final list of MQM-P’s candidates would be prepared at a ‘safe’ place and given to the senior party leadership for making a formal announcement.

They said that the MQM-P convener, already facing pressure to accommodate favourites from all sides including Governor House, which also wants MQM-P tickets for a retired government officer and an IT expert, was not happy over the ongoing row and the interference of the powers that be.

“Maybe, he [Khalid Maqbool] talked about the boycott to ease the pressure on him,” opined a source.

Besides, they said that the MQM-P believed that the caretaker government that had taken over the province’s affairs in August proved to be an extension of the PPP regime.

They said that not only the Election Commission of Pakistan, but the country’s establishment had also given a free hand to the PPP and on the other side, the MQM-P was being denied its legitimate political space.

Mentioning the rejection of nomination papers of its certain candidates from key constituencies, they alleged that most returning officers (ROs) were actually given postings by the then government of the PPP and the party feared that they might influence the election process on the day of polling in favour of the then ruling party.

Despite showing complete obedience, the discrimination against the MQM-P was ‘regretful’, the source said without elaborating further.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2024