MQM-Pakistan terminates basic membership of Senator Mian Ateeq

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) terminated on Monday the basic membership of Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh for violating the party line during the vote on the Electoral Reforms Bill in the Senate last week.

Senator Ateeq gave his vote in support of the amendment in the Political Parties Order 2002. The successful passage of the bill has provided legal justification for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to head the Pakistan Muslim League –Nawaz.

A consultative party meeting on the issue was convened by MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar, seeking clarification from the lawmaker about his support to the PML-N.

Later, while talking to the press, Sattar informed that the party decided to terminate the basic membership of the senator for his vote against the party policy. He has also been asked to resign on ethical grounds.

“We were supporting Pakistan Peoples’ Party’s motion on the issue, however, Senator Ateeq voted against the party’s policy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senator Ateeq, while speaking to Geo News, said that the policies of Pakistan Peoples’ Party were not clear to him on the issue. He added that Sattar did not inform him of his membership suspension during the party’s meeting.

He added that Sattar or the party had no role in his decision to vote for the bill.

PTI issues show-cause notices over bill vote

On the same issue, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf served show-cause notices on Monday to two of its senators on their absence during the Senate session.

The notices were given to Senator Brig (retd) John Kenneth Willams and Nauman Wazir Khattak.

Both the lawmakers have been directed to submit their response to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan within seven working days of the receipt of the notice. 

Editorial note: An earlier version of this story misstated that the senator's party membership had been suspended. The error is regretted.