KARACHI (Staff Report) Member of Sindh Assembly Ashfaq Mangi on Monday joined the newly-launched Pak Sarzameen Party of former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal.
Mangi who was elected from PS-127 Malir is the latest Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmaker to join the party of estranged MQM leaders.
Mangi was joined by dozens of dissident MQM members in Sindh, who he said had held organisational posts in the MQM.
During a press conference alongside Mustafa Kamal, Mangi announced to leave MQM and resign from Sindh Assembly.
Addressing the press conference, Kamal said: “I welcome Ashfaq Mangi bhai to my house.”
He added that several other high-profile MQM leaders were in contact with his party to switch their loyalties.
Kamal returned to Pakistan in March and unleashed a salvo of bombastic ‘revelations’ against party supremo Altaf Hussain, accusing him of deception, addressing workers while intoxicated and poor running of the MQM.
Since then, the former mayor of Karachi has pulled former MQM heavyweights Advocate Anis, Raza Haroon, Anis Kaimkhani, MPA Dr Sagheer, MPA Iftikhar Alam, Waseem Aftab, ex-senator Mohammad Ali Brohi, and most recently MPA Bilquis Mukhtar, into his party.
The Pak Sarzameen Party’s name was announced on March 23 and since then the party has opened offices in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas.
Advocate Anis and Raza Haroon both have slammed Altaf Hussain, saying the MQM chief is the reason behind party members jumping ship. However, the MQM has denied all allegations regarding the ‘minus-Altaf formula’ and claims its workers are being ‘forced to change loyalties’.
