Disgruntled MQM boycotts AJK elections

The news of the boycott came on the heels of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission postponing elections on two reserved Karachi seats for Kashmiris, citing security concerns.Speaking to the media in Karachi, MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar alleged the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had been pressuring the MQM to give up a reserved seat in one Karachi constituency. He said the government had set up polling stations in sensitive areas of Karachi where MQM workers and voters had reservations to go.Sattar lamented that no necessary step was taken despite the MQM apprising President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani of the situation. Interior Minister Rehman Malik is among those who are pressuring the MQM, Sattar said.The Karachi constituenties where polls have been postponed are LA-30 and LA-36.