KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami has called for countrywide protests against the results of the local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad, alleging that the results have been engineered.
Siraj ul-Haq, party chief, while speaking to the press late on Monday, said the delay in the release of results by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was raising doubts. He said that JI had emerged as a big party in the elections, and the polling agents’ results prove that the party has a majority.
Party spokesperson Qaiser Sharif also said the party had given a call for protests on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the chief of the party’s Karachi chapter, Hafiz Naeem ur-Rehman, said the people of the provincial capital voted for JI as the biggest party in the city.
Rehman, criticising the government, said the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) connived with some individuals of the ECP and returning officers to plunder JI’s mandate. He also said the tribunal played a “brave” role by holding the elections on the scheduled date, but the body’s preparation and arrangements weren’t up to the mark.
Rehman further alleged the deputy commissioner of West Zone and assistant commissioner of Shah Faisal changed the results. He added that JI will stage sit-ins outside the office of the ROs who changed the results, and the biggest protest will be at the office of the deputy returning officer where the most rigging took place.
Finally, Rehman said that JI is open for talks with every party but first the counting of its seats should be done properly. He said JI chief Haq has spoken to the chief election commissioner in this regard, and that Karachi’s mayor would be from JI.
