KARACHI: Another leaked audio making rounds on social media has highlighted the challenges faced by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in its talks with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for government formation.
Earlier, an audio clip attributed to Mustafa Kamal went viral on the internet in which he revealed to the party’s Rabita Committee that apparently PML-N is not in the mood to hold talks with them and accused the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of attempting to corner them.
Kamal has confirmed the audio to be genuine.
In the latest audio, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori — who is a also member of the MQM-P’s committee that has been tasked with negotiating with other political parties — could be heard saying that the party is paying the cost of becoming part of the Shahbaz Sharif-led coalition.
“We were part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government when PML-N and PPP were in Opposition. We supported the PDM, which angered our voter,” Tessori said in the audio which could not be independently verified.
“MQM-P got seven seats despite all the hurdles [in 2018 elections] which was our vote bank. We didn’t get the vote today [in the 2024 polls]. The party is being offered one ministry [Information Technology] as part of government and they are bringing their own governor in Sindh as well.”
Tessori further said that the party would face severe consequences if they entered into an alliance.
In the alleged audio that appears to be of an MQM-P meeting, the Sindh governor said that the PPP is pressurising PML-N to sideline the party.
‘Taken out of context’
Reacting to the leaked audio, the Sindh governor’s spokesperson admitted that the audio is Tessori’s but “it has been taken out of context”.
“The voice in the audio circulating in media is Sindh governor’s but some things have been presented out of context through editing,” the spox said.
He further stated that MQM-P’s Senior Deputy Convenor Syed Mustafa Kamal has given a detailed statement in this regard.
Mustafa Kamal’s audio
In the previous audio clip, senior MQM-P leader Mustafa Kamal could be heard briefing the party’s coordination committee about their discussion with the PML-N.
“They [the PML-N] didn’t seem in the mood to talk to us…,” Kamal can be heard as saying, adding that yet they spoke “for the sake of engagement” for about 40 to 45 minutes.
“We asked them about their talks with the PPP, to which they said that the contents of it were confidential. Still, they told us a couple of things.”
He said: “The PML-N told us that the PPP is saying that the MQM-P’s mandate is 100 per cent fake, while other parties may have 50 to 60 per cent fake mandates.”
He added that the PML-N said that after their partnership with the PPP, the number for having a majority in the parliament has been achieved.
He quoted the PML-N as saying that the PPP is insisting that since both parties can form a government easily, the MQM-P’s support is not needed, so they should not be brought into the coalition.
Kamal asserted in the audio clip that he deemed it necessary that the coordination committee should know of these things. He said the MQM-P’s negotiating committee had answers to the things that the PML-N people said, yet chose not to respond because they wanted to know what they were thinking, since they were not listening to the party’s demands.
Kamal confirms audio
Later, Kamal admitted in the video statement that the voice on the audio clip is his, and said that it pertained to the Sunday meeting of the MQM-P’s coordination committee, in which he was briefing them about the party’s negotiations with the PML-N.
He said that there is nothing new in the audio clip, since the MQM-P and the PPP have been accusing each other publicly for holding a fake mandate. However, he added, the important part of this audio leak is that someone belonging to the MQM-L has infiltrated within their ranks.
“We had our doubts about some people for quite some time, but this audio leak has pinpointed exactly who is working for the MQM-L within the coordination committee, because this audio clip was released by them on Tuesday morning.”
He also said that by leaking this audio clip, the MQM-L has been thinking that they have got their hands on something big, while the things being said in the audio clip are routine stuff, and there are no secrets in it.
The MQM-P’s senior deputy convener claimed that they have conducted a forensic examination of the audio leak, and the investigation has revealed the name of the MQM-L insider responsible for leaking the audio clip.
“We had been waiting for this revelation for the past many months. Now we know the personality who is working against the party and the nation.”
MQM-L denies involvement
Meanwhile, MQM-L information secretary Qasim Ali Raza refuted Kamal’s allegation, saying that his party has nothing to do with the audio clip, and that it has not been leaked by them but by someone who is in the MQM-P’s coordination committee. He said the audio clip has been making the rounds on social media since Monday.
Raza said the MQM-P has been given a fake mandate in opposition of MQM founder Altaf Hussain by the powers meddling in the political affairs in the country.
“They were given so many seats that even Kamal and company can’t believe,” he said. He demanded that Kamal share the forensic results that he claims to have obtained and reveal the name of the person publicly, if he is true in his claim.
