Pakistan polls: PML-N pushes for ‘seat adjustment’ agreement with MQM-P in Karachi constituency

Shehbaz Sharif (C), leader of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) party and country's former Prime Minister addresses the media after a meeting with Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) party leaders ahead of the upcoming 2024 general elections at latter's headquaters in Karachi, Pakistan, on December 29, 2023. (AFP/File)
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Updated 10 January 2024
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Pakistan polls: PML-N pushes for ‘seat adjustment’ agreement with MQM-P in Karachi constituency

  • PML-N to field former PM Shehbaz Sharif from Karachi’s NA-242 constituency where the party feels it is popular
  • MQM-P leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, PML-N confirm talks so far have remained inconclusive 

KARACHI: Former ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will hold talks today, Wednesday, with the Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in hopes of convincing the latter to withdraw its candidate from a key Karachi constituency in favor of former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, a PML-N leader confirmed. 

The PML-N has traditionally enjoyed electoral support in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and prosperous province. However, the party thinks it has a strong chance of winning Karachi’s NA-242 constituency. The PML-N won the NA-242 constituency, previously NA-249, in 1993. During the general elections of 2018, the party fielded Sharif from the same constituency, who ended up losing to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate by a narrow margin despite polling over 34,000 votes.

The MQM-P has remained a key political player in the southern port city of Karachi. Founded as MQM in 1984 by controversial Pakistani politician Altaf Hussain, it has been divided into several factions since 2016 when it distanced itself from Hussain. Siddiqui leads the MQM-P faction currently. 

MQM-P leader Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui refuted media speculation that both parties had reached a deal on Wednesday, saying that the party would field former Karachi mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal as its candidate from NA-242. 

“There is no truth in the news circulating about seat adjustment in NA-242 constituency,” Siddiqui said in a statement shared by the MQM-P, adding that Kamal, the party’s senior deputy convener, was its candidate.

Nasiruddin Mehmood, a PML-N leader who is involved in the ongoing talks with the MQM-P, confirmed both parties had failed to reach an agreement on the matter, adding that the party wanted to field Sharif from the constituency. 

“The news [about seat adjustment] being aired is based on assumptions,” Mehmood told Arab News. “No agreement was reached on this seat, leading to the decision that both parties’ senior leadership will directly contact each other.”

Mehmood said both parties would speak to each other on Wednesday evening after which the situation would become clearer.

Zia Ur Rehman, a Karachi-based journalist and researcher, said the PML-N sees the upcoming polls as a significant opportunity for it to win the NA-242 seat with the MQM-P’s support. 

He pointed out that the PPP was aiming to dispel the impression that its vote bank is limited to Sindh only by fielding its chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, from a Lahore constituency. He said the PML-N was aiming to dispel the impression that it has support only in Punjab by fielding Sharif from Karachi. 

“PML-N aims to overcome any regional limitations by electing its central leader from Karachi,” Rehman told Arab News. 

“Despite narrow losses in the 2018 general elections and the 2021 by-election, the PML-N stands a good chance,” Rehman said. “The MQM-P is actively seeking to maximize gains from the seat, considering it as still open for their party.”

Abdul Jabbar Nasir, an expert in electoral politics, said NA-242 is the only seat in Sindh that the PML-N believes it can win solely based on its popularity and without relying on an “electable“— a euphemism for candidates who have the financial resources or means to win elections. 

Kamal, who served as mayor of Karachi from 2005-2010, contested the 2021 by-election from NA-242 as the head of the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), securing over 8,000 votes. MQM-P candidate Hafiz Mursaleen secured 7,007 votes in the by-poll that was won by the PPP.

Last year, Kamal’s PSP merged with the MQM-P and according to Nisar, Kamal believes the party can easily win the upcoming election as the combined votes polled by the MQM-P and PSP in 2021 were more than the votes secured then by the PPP candidate. 

“If an agreement isn’t reached on this seat, it’s highly likely that there will be no seat adjustment between the two in Sindh,” Nisar said.


Pakistan committee discusses development of border areas in inaugural session

Updated 04 May 2024
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Pakistan committee discusses development of border areas in inaugural session

  • The committee was formed to devise comprehensive strategies for holistic development in Pakistan’s border regions
  • Key topics that came under discussion at the inaugural session included tariff rationalization, employment creation

ISLAMABAD: A high-level committee tasked with development of Pakistan’s border regions on Saturday held its inaugural session in Islamabad to discuss the challenges facing communities based in the country’s frontier regions, the Pakistani commerce ministry said.

The inaugural session of the committee, which was formed to devise comprehensive strategies for holistic development in these areas, was presided over by Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, according to the ministry.

Key topics that came under discussion at the meeting included tariff rationalization and employment creation, reflecting the committee’s commitment to addressing border communities’ challenges.

“The committee aims to present its recommendations to the Prime Minister within 10 days, signaling a promising start to collaborative efforts for socio-economic development in the region,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.

Pakistan shares a long, porous border with Iran and Afghanistan, with people live along it relying on cross-border trade with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies or prohibitions.

Islamabad last year announced restrictions on the informal trade to discourage smuggling of goods and currency in order to support the country’s dwindling economy.

Pakistan’s trade with China mostly takes place through formal channels, while the country’s trade ties with India, another neighbor it shares border with, remain suspended since 2019 over the disputed region of Kashmir.


Pakistan records ‘wettest April’ in more than 60 years — weather agency

Updated 04 May 2024
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Pakistan records ‘wettest April’ in more than 60 years — weather agency

  • Pakistan’s metrology department says April rainfall was recorded at 59.3 millimeters, ‘excessively above’ the normal average of 22.5 millimeters
  • There were at least 144 deaths in thunderstorms and house collapses due to heavy rains in what the report said was the ‘wettest April since 1961’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan experienced its “wettest April since 1961,” receiving more than twice as much rain as usual for the month, the country’s weather agency said in a report.

April rainfall was recorded at 59.3 millimeters, “excessively above” the normal average of 22.5 millimeters, Pakistan’s metrology department said late Friday in its monthly climate report.

There were at least 144 deaths in thunderstorms and house collapses due to heavy rains in what the report said was the “wettest April since 1961.”

Pakistan is increasingly vulnerable to unpredictable weather, as well as often destructive monsoon rains that usually arrive in July.

In the summer of 2022, a third of Pakistan was submerged by unprecedented monsoon rains that displaced millions of people and cost the country $30 billion in damage and economic losses, according to a World Bank estimate.

“Climate change is a major factor that is influencing the erratic weather patterns in our region,” Zaheer Ahmad Babar, spokesperson for the Pakistan Meteorological Department, said while commenting on the report.

While much of Asia is sweltering dure to heat waves, Pakistan’s national monthly temperature for April was 23.67 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit) 0.87 degrees lower than the average of 24.54, the report noted.


Fire erupts at Karachi garment factory, no loss of live reported

Updated 04 May 2024
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Fire erupts at Karachi garment factory, no loss of live reported

  • The biggest Pakistani city, known for poor fire safety protocols, witnesses hundreds of such incidents annually
  • In November last year, a blaze at a shopping mall in Karachi killed around a dozen people and injured several others

KARACHI: A fire broke out at a garment factory in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Saturday, rescue officials said.

The blaze erupted on the ground floor of the garment factory in Zarina Colony in the New Karachi area, according to Rescue 1122 service.

“One fire truck is actively participating in the operation,” a Rescue 1122 spokesperson said, adding that another fire tender has been called to the site.

No loss of life has been reported in the wake of the fire.

Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and the main commercial hub, is home to hundreds of thousands of industrial units and some of the tallest buildings in the South Asian country. 

The megapolis, known for its fragile firefighting system and poor safety controls, witnesses hundreds of such incidents annually.

In Nov., a blaze at a shopping mall killed around a dozen people and injured several others. In April last year, four firefighters died and nearly a dozen others were injured after a fire broke out at a garment factory, while 10 people were killed in a massive fire at a chemical factory in the city in August 2021. 

In the deadliest such incident, 260 people were killed in 2012 after being trapped inside a garment factory when a fire broke out.


Saleem Haider Khan, Faisal Kundi named governors of Pakistan’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces

Updated 04 May 2024
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Saleem Haider Khan, Faisal Kundi named governors of Pakistan’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces

  • Nominations come as part of power-sharing deal between PM Sharif’s party and ex-FM Bhutto-Zardari-led faction
  • According to the deal, the PPP backed Sharif for the prime minister’s office in return for constitutional positions

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a coalition partner in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, has nominated Saleem Haider Khan and Faisal Karim Kundi as governors of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the PPP chairman announced on Friday.

The PPP forged an alliance with PM Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party after Pakistan’s national election on February 8 failed to present a clear winner.

According to the power-sharing deal, the PPP backed Sharif for the prime minister’s office in return for the presidency, chairman of Senate and other important constitutional positions.

In a post on X, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari congratulated Khan and Kundi, and extended his good wishes to them

“I am confident they [Khan and Kundi] will perform their duties with the dignity their new office demands,” he said on X.

In Pakistan, a governor is a representative of the state to a province, who is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.

Such positions may seem ceremonial and symbolic, but they do hold significant constitutional importance.

At present, PML-N’s Balighur Rehman has been serving as the Punjab governor, while JUI-F’s Hajji Ghulam Ali holds the post in KP.

Bhutto-Zardari also called on PM Sharif in Islamabad, following the nominations, Pakistani state media reported.

“During the meeting, views were exchanged on overall political situation in the country and matters of national interest,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster said.


Pakistan Cricket Board confirms details of national side’s South Africa tour

Updated 04 May 2024
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Pakistan Cricket Board confirms details of national side’s South Africa tour

  • The side will depart for Durban on December 2 after returning from Australia in Nov.
  • The ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced details of the Pakistan men’s cricket team’s tour of South Africa for three Twenty20, three one-day international and two Test matches in the second half of 2024.

Durban, Centurion, and Johannesburg will host the T20Is from December 10-14, according to the PCB. The ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg, while the two ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 matches will be held at Centurion (December 26-30) and Cape Town (January 3-7).

The side will depart for Durban on December 2 after returning from Australia on November 19, having featured in a series of three ODIs and three T20Is from November 4-18. After completing their African safari on January 8, Pakistan will take on New Zealand and South Africa in a three-nation ODI tournament on home turf, which will be followed by the eight-team ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.

“Prior to the tours of Australia and South Africa, Pakistan will host Bangladesh and England for two and three Tests, respectively,” the PCB said in a statement. “This means they will play seven Tests, minimum of 10 ODIs, and six T20Is in the six-month period from August 2024 to January 2025.”

This will be Pakistan’s seventh Test tour of South Africa since 1994-95. Their two Test wins were in the 1997-98 and 2006-2007 series.

In the Durban Test in 1997-98, Pakistan won by 29 runs at the back of centuries from Azhar Mahmood (132) and Saeed Anwar (118), match figures of nine for 149 by Mushtaq Ahmed and a first innings five-fer by Shoaib Akhtar. In the 2006-2007 Port Elizabeth Test, Pakistan won by five wickets with Inzamam-ul-Haq being named as Player of the Match for his 92 in the first innings.

In ODIs, Pakistan has won two of the last three series in 2013-2014 and 2020-21, while South Africa triumphed in 2002-2003 (4-1), 2006-2007 (3-1), 2012-2013 (3-2), and 2018-2019 (3-2).

In 12 T20Is to date, Pakistan leads 6-5 in head-to-head encounters, with one match ending in no-result.

Tour schedule:

10 Dec – 1st T20I, Durban

13 Dec – 2nd T20I, Centurion

14 Dec – 3rd T20I, Johannesburg

17 Dec – 1st ODI, Paarl

19 Dec – 2nd ODI, Cape Town

22 Dec – 3rd ODI, Johannesburg

26-30 Dec – 1st Test, Centurion

3-7 Jan – 2nd Test, Cape Town