KARACHI: Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman stated on Monday that he would be resigning from his provincial assembly seat, PS-129, in Karachi because he did not win the seat; instead, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidate won the seat.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Naeem stated that his PTI-backed opponent won the seat and that he did not want a “charity” seat.
He stated that he would return the seat while continuing the legal and political battle to reclaim all of the seats that his party had lost due to rigging.
“You cannot change the people’s mind through fake mandate,” he added.
In the general elections on February 8, he won the Sindh Assembly seat PS-129 from Karachi Central. However, he stated that the PTI-backed candidate won on PS-129, not him.
“I don’t want a seat in charity. “It should be given to the rightful owner,” he remarked.
Naeem stated that the PTI candidate garnered more votes, thus he accepted the party’s victory and mandate. He stated that he had the respect within himself to accept the independent candidate’s victory on PS-129.
The JI leader further stated that he will not take oath as an MPA for the seat.
According to the Form 45, the PTI affiliated candidate won PS-129, hence he should take oath on that seat,
Vowing to launch a struggle to reclaim their “winning seats,” the JI Karachi chairman claimed that even on his winning seat, his votes were listed as 26,000, whereas he had received 30,000.
Naeem demanded election results based on Form 45, claiming that they wanted all of the seats that his party won.
The JI leader argued that returning the seat was a slap in the face of Pakistan’s Election Commission (ECP). He also criticised the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) for celebrating the “fake mandate”.
The JI leader stated that a big number of their polling agents were not given Form 45, and the worst type of rigging was carried out using Form 47. The returning officers’ offices were sealed on all sides.
