Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, announced his withdrawal from the provincial assembly seat PS-129 in Karachi. He cited the victory of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed candidate as the reason.
Naeem addressed a press conference in Karachi, expressing his refusal to accept a “charity” seat. He emphasized his commitment to pursue legal and political avenues to reclaim all lost seats due to alleged rigging.
Despite winning the Sindh Assembly seat PS-129 in the February 8 general elections, Naeem acknowledged the PTI-supported candidate’s victory on the same seat. He stated that he would not take oath as an MPA and insisted that the PTI candidate should assume office based on official Form 45 results.
Highlighting discrepancies in vote counts between Form 45 and Form 47, Naeem demanded fair election results based on Form 45 and vowed to contest for all seats won by his party.
He criticized the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for alleged irregularities and condemned the MQM-Pakistan’s celebration of what he termed a “fake mandate.” Naeem alleged rigging tactics during polling, including the denial of Form 45 to their polling agents and sealing of returning officers’ offices.
Naeem asserted that the decision to return the seat was a protest against the ECP’s failure to ensure fair elections. He claimed that the people had overwhelmingly supported JI in the general elections compared to the previous local government polls.
