KARACHI: Heer Soho — the Mut­ta­hida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) member of the Sindh Assembly who is said to have acted as a bridge between certain MQM MPAs and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership during the recent Senate election — on Thursday formally joined the PPP.

“The Muttahida is not only getting disintegrated but also losing its repute vis-a-vis respect for womenfolk,” she said while addressing a press conference along with PPP women wing president MNA Faryal Talpur and Senior Sindh Minister for Food and Parliamentary Affairs Nisar Khuhro at the Sindh Assembly.

Ms Soho said that she had decided to join the PPP when she had attended a dinner at the CM House a day before the March 3 Senate election. She said she voted for the PPP candidates.

“I served the party [MQM-P] for more than 17 years tirelessly supporting it through thick and thin but now people are making fun of the party over the ongoing tug of war between its groups. Although I had not been feeling comfortable in the party for many months, my conscience did not allow me to quit it during the period of trials and tribulations it had been passing through,” she said.

Ms Soho said she was deeply hurt by Dr Farooq Sattar’s remarks targeting women lawmakers alone for not voting for their party colleagues in the Senate election. “For the last few days Dr Sattar [has been] pouring scorn on his party’s women lawmakers alone although several of its male lawmakers also did not favour the party’s candidates in the election,” she argued. “This shows that unfortunately women are no more enjoying respect in that party,” she said.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2018