Finally in 1978, the MKP formally split up into three factions: One led by Bangash, taking most of the NWFP organisation and the party in northern Punjab with him. A second led by Sher Ali Bacha and Imtiaz Alam, taking most of the cadres in Punjab and Karachi and a small number in NWFP (Sher Ali Bacha later separated himself from this faction, forming the Pukhtoonkhwa Mazdoor Kissan Party). And finally a third faction led by Major Ishaque, which was supported by a small number of the party’s old guard in Punjab and a small number of cadres from Karachi. Of these three factions, the one led by Afzal Bangash soon came to be recognised by the public as the MKP.