Salman Mujahid joins PSP after being expelled from MQM-P

KARACHI: MNA Salman Mujahid Baloch, who was expelled from Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan in October, joined Pak Sarzameen Party on Friday.

While addressing a news conference held on the occasion of Mujahid’s joining the party, the PSP chief Mustafa Kamal said people from MQM-P join their party every other day. This is the reason why MQM-P found it necessary to hold a public rally in Hyderabad, Kamal added.

“The party has been formed by doing china-cutting on MQM founder’s party,” Kamal said about MQM-Pakistan.

Salman Mujahid was elected to the National Assembly from NA-239 Kemari.

He was expelled from MQM-P as his party membership was cancelled over violation of ethics, a party spokesperson had said.

MQM-P members were also barred from contacting Salman Mujahid after his expulsion from the party.

The MNA had alleged he was being punished for raising his voice against the expulsion of another ex-party member, Irum Azeem Farooque.

“They cannot expel me, the party isn’t the property of anyone and it belongs to every common man,” Salman Mujahid had said, while speaking on Geo News show Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath earlier.

“No one got MQM in their father’s will,” he had claimed. “We accepted him [Farooq Sattar] as our leader even though he has no leadership qualities."

However, weeks after Salman Mujahid's defection and his spate against MQM-P chief Farooq Sattar, MQM-P and PSP announced setting aside their rivalry and joining hands. But the alliance was short-lived as it fell apart within 24 hours of its formation. 

After the episode, Kamal held a news conference where he said Sattar had been asking him for the past eight months to merge PSP with MQM-P but his party did not agree, hence an agreement was reached that a third party could be formed through which the struggle could be continued.

"I had even offered MQM-P that I would dissolve my party but said I don’t want to merge with MQM-P. Sattar said he doesn’t want PSP to dissolve, but asked me to merge instead. I refused as I believe MQM is still the party of its founder,” Kamal had said.

On the other hand, MQM-P leader Faisal Sabzwari had said his party did not want to merge with any party.

"In order to have a political alliance with PSP, we made serious efforts to move forward, but Kamal wasted the chance," Sabzwari had said while addressing a press conference in Karachi.