KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Monday expressed its willingness to see former federal minister Faisal Vawda join its ranks ahead of the April 2 Senate elections.
“In the past, we have invited Vawda to join [MQM-P] […] I am praying that he will join the ranks of the party,” MQM-P leader Rauf Siddiqui said while talking to reporters in Karachi.
Commenting on the upcoming Senate elections, MQM-P’s Siddiqui — who is contesting the polls himself — said the party has fielded a total of eight candidates in the upper house.
However, Vawda reiterated that he was still an “independent” political leader.
“I am still an independent,” Vawda told a news conference in Karachi, adding that he would consider joining a political party when “the season” is in, as independent candidates are currently trending.
Expressing his views on the political scene and the prospects for the role of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) at the centre, Vawda – who is running as an independent in the Senate elections – said he did not see a Bilawal Bhutto-led party securing power in Islamabad. .
Without naming names, the former minister recalled his 14-year association with the PTI and emphasized that both the party and its founder were full of themselves during their time in power.
Vawda, whose party membership was terminated by the PTI in 2022 over his remarks about the party’s long march, has been quite vocal in the political scene.
Last week, the former minister had dubbed Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz as “Buzdar II” – a reference to former CM Usman Buzdar, who served as the province’s chief minister during PTI’s tenure.
Since his exit from the PTI, Vawda has often been found critical of former prime minister and party founder Imran Khan.
