JI starts campaign for April 18 LG polls

The Jamaat-e-Islami’s Karachi chapter held a large workers convention in the city to kickstart a fresh election campaign for the local government polls in 11 union councils (UCs) to be held on April 18. A large number of JI workers attended the public meeting on New MA Jinnah Road.

Addressing the convention through videoconferencing, JI Pakistan chief Sirajul Haq vowed that the party will restore the past glory of the City of Lights. He said Karachiites have turned to the JI for their city’s future, so the party will safeguard each and every vote cast in its favour.

Censuring the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Haq said that the two have unfortunately done a disservice to society, the city and democracy itself through their fascist conduct in order to deprive Karachiites of their due rights.

He said that in the LG elections the JI emerged as the number-one party in Karachi both in terms of seats and popular votes. He vowed that the party will form the local government in the city.

He also said that people from Balochistan to Bajaur have been approaching the JI because they believe that the party will safeguard their rights. The JI has earned the trust and confidence of the masses through its unshaken resolve and just policies, he added.

JI Karachi chief Engr Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on the occasion expressed his resolve against the fascist tactics employed by the PPP in collaboration with the ECP. He explained how the PPP manipulated the electoral process to rig the LG polls. He said the PPP government in Sindh installed its chosen and loyal employees as returning officers and district returning officers to manipulate the electoral process.

He pointed out that the PPP government in Sindh also pressured the presiding officers to change the results on Form 11 and Form 12. He lamented that the PPP, under the influence of the feudal mindset prevailing among its high-ups, used state machinery to get the results of its choosing.

Rehman said that some elements in the PPP promised its leadership to get them the mayor’s office in Karachi by hook or by crook, then violated all the democratic norms to please their bosses. He stressed that the PPP will have to accept the mandate of Karachiites at any cost.

Addressing the chief election commissioner (CEC), he asked Sikandar Sultan Raja to grow a spine and show some courage instead of serving the PPP as its B team. He said the CEC was responsible for the two-month delay in the announcement of the schedule of the LG elections in the remaining 11 UCs.

He directed all the party workers to gear up and double their efforts for winning over the voters in the 11 UCs. He asked them to use every available resource and energy in this phase of the LG polls.