Belated results show MQM-P has retaken Karachi from PTI

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has staged a triumphant comeback in Karachi’s politics by securing the most number of National Assembly seats in the city as a result of Thursday’s general elections.

As per the unofficial results compiled by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the MQM-P, till the filing of this report, had secured 13 out of 22 National Assembly seats of the city. The MQM-P had fielded candidates on 19 out of 22 seats in Karachi for the February 8 general elections.

In the 2018 general elections, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had won 14 out of 21 National Assembly seats of Karachi and the MQM-P could secure only four National Assembly seats from the city.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which is set to form the next Sindh government for the fourth consecutive term, has become the second largest party of Karachi after securing six National Assembly seats.

As per the unofficial results, the PPP’s candidate Jam Abdul Karim secured NA-229 District Malir with 55,832 votes. The PPP’s Syed Agha Rafiullah secured NA-230 District Malir after bagging 32,072 votes.

The PPP’s candidate Abdul Hakim Baloch won NA-231 District Malir by securing 43,634 votes. In this way, all three Malir seats were clinched by the PPP.

The MQM-P’s Asia Ishaq won NA-232 Korangi after securing 88,260 votes. Javed Hanif of the MQM-P secured NA-233 Korangi after polling 103,967 votes. The MQM-P’s Muhammad Moin Aamir Pirzada won the constituency with 73,687 votes.

The MQM-P’s Muhammad Iqbal Khan won NA-235 District East with 20,185 votes. The NA-236 constituency of District East was clinched by the MQM-P’s Hassan Sabir with 38,871 votes. The PPP’s Asad Alam Niazi won NA-237 of the district with 40,836 votes and the MQM-P’s Sadiq Iftikhar won NA-238 in District East with 54,884 votes.

Nabil Gabol of the PPP won NA-239 District South with 40,077 votes. The MQM-P’s Arshad Vohra won NA-240 District South with 30,573 votes. The MQM-P’s Syed Mustafa Kamal won NA-242 Keamari-1 with 71,767 vote. The PPP’s Abdul Qadir Patel won NA-243 Keamari with 60,266 votes.

Dr Farooq Sattar of the MQM-P won NA-244 in District West with 20,048 votes.

The MQM-P’s Khawaja Izharul Hassan won NA-247 District Central with 64,945 votes. MQM-P Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui won NA-248 District Central with 103,000 votes. The MQM-P’s Saleem Ahmed Siddiqui won NA-249 in the district with 77,529 votes. The MQM-P’s Farhan Chishti won NA-250 District Central with 79,925 votes.

The MQM-P is also most likely to win a majority of 47 Sindh Assembly seats from Karachi.

One of the most tense contests witnessed in Karachi was on the Sindh Assembly seat PS-105 in District East that was again won by Karachi PPP President and former Sindh labour minister Saeed Ghani after securing 26,168 votes. His rival was the Grand Democratic Alliance’s Irfanullah Khan Marwat who bagged 20,111 votes.

In a video message, Ghani expressed gratitude to the voters in his constituency for electing him for a third consecutive elections. He said he had been elected to the assembly despite widespread rigging attempts by his rival candidate at a number of polling stations in the constituency.

Karachi Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman won the Sindh Assembly seat PS-129 in District Central by securing 26,296 votes. He said the electoral mandate given by the people of Karachi to the JI’s contenders and PTI-backed independent candidates had been stolen to unduly reward the MQM-P that was once again being imposed on the city. Speaking at a press conference after securing the most number of seats in Karachi, the MQM-P chief Dr Siddiqui said the doors of his party were open to the independently elected candidates backed by the PTI. He said his party would soon formally celebrate its electoral victory in the city.