The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has withdrawn all its candidates from the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) general elections in support of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The announcement comes just ahead of the elections scheduled for Monday and marks a significant political development.
The decision was confirmed on Saturday as the party shifted its support to PML-N candidates across the region.
MQM-P Withdraws Candidates Ahead of AJK Polls
MQM-P candidate Saima Fareed confirmed that she would withdraw from the election race following the party’s decision.
She said she had actively campaigned for the past three months. However, she made it clear that the party’s decision would be respected.
“But now, I will comply with the party’s instructions,” she said.
Fareed also expressed hope that the PML-N would secure victory in the AJK elections.
The withdrawal is expected to strengthen cooperation between the two parties ahead of the polls.
Farooq Sattar Reiterates Claim Over Sindh Governorship
Earlier in the day, MQM-P senior leader Farooq Sattar addressed a joint press conference alongside PML-N leaders at the party’s headquarters in Bahadurabad, Karachi.
During the media briefing, Sattar said the governorship of Sindh was a constitutional office that rightfully belonged to the MQM-P.
His remarks highlighted the party’s continued demand for a greater political role in the province while reaffirming its alliance with the PML-N ahead of the AJK elections.
Mustafa Kamal Announces Rights Movement for Karachi
Federal Health Minister and MQM-P leader Syed Mustafa Kamal also addressed the press conference.
He announced that the party had decided to launch a public movement instead of remaining silent on Karachi’s issues.
“The party had decided that now it would not remain silent and would come out on roads to demand rights for the people of Karachi.”
Kamal argued that Karachi contributes significantly to Pakistan’s economy. However, he said the city continues to receive fewer resources than it deserves.
“Karachi generates revenues not only for Sindh, but for the entire country. But the city is not given its rights,” he lamented.
Karachi’s Development and Funding Under Spotlight
Speaking further, Kamal claimed Lahore had moved far ahead of Karachi in development across different sectors.
He stated that Sindh had received Rs22,000 billion from the federal government during the last 18 years.
According to him, Karachi’s share from that amount remained limited to Rs680 billion.
“The provincial government receives huge amount of money from the federal government, but does not pass these funds on to the port city,” he said, adding that injustice was being done to the city.
Kamal also claimed that Karachi generates 95 per cent of Sindh’s revenue and more than 50 per cent of Pakistan’s total revenue.
Concluding his remarks, he stressed Karachi’s economic importance to the country.
“Bear this thing in mind,” he went on to say, “that it was Karachi, not the IMF, that could pull the country out of crises.”
The statements underscored the MQM-P’s renewed focus on Karachi’s political and economic concerns while the party simultaneously threw its weight behind the PML-N in the upcoming AJK elections.
