JI to resist any bid to rig Nov 14 LG by-polls: Monem Zafar

Karachi Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Monem Zafar has stated that the party will resist any effort to rig the upcoming local government by-polls in Karachi scheduled for November 14.

Addressing a press conference at the Karachi JI headquarters, Idara-e-Noor-e-Haq, on Friday, he said that apparently, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and some corrupt officials had already devised a mechanism to rig the by-polls.

He added that the scheming parties must know that the JI would strongly resist their malicious game. Karachi JI chief highlighted what he termed wrongdoings on part of the ECP. He stated that 2,080 outsiders were shown as voters in a union committee of Liaquatabad Town, despite the fact that at least one of the permanent or temporary addresses on the CNIC of those voters fell in that constituency.

Zafar pointed out that the polling stations were set up far away from a union committee of Model Town, District Korangi. He added that the polling staffers at the polling stations in that UC were also appointed from the DMC Korangi in violation of the ECP rules.

He urged the voters to come forward overwhelmingly and vote for the JI. “Only the symbol of ‘scale’ would guarantee the progress and development of Karachi,” he said, adding that a massive turnover was the key to fail nefarious tactics by the PPP and the ECP.

He recalled that the PPP and ECP had ambushed the mandate of the Karachiites in the past. He alleged that initially, the PPP tried its level best to avoid the local government elections and later with the help of the ECP and corrupt officials, it managed to hijack the polls.

He said that the JI had challenged all the cases and since January 2023, 14 cases had been pending before the tribunals — even after 22 long months. The JI leader said that the party had already written letters to the ECP detailing all the pre-poll rigging tactics.

Zafar also spoke on the civic issues in the city and asked the mayor to show some decency and deliver relief to the Karachiites instead of mocking the citizens by hoisting the cheques of tax collected forcefully by the K-Electric.

He said the JI was going to hold a press conference outside the KE headquarters on November 11 in order to announce its future course of action against the power utility and those providing protection to its ‘shady affairs’.

He also highlighted the issue of infrastructure in the city, broken network of roads and accidents that were happening due to mismanagement of the government. He also criticised the PPP government for mismanagement and corruption in the Medical and Dental College Admissions Test that jeopardised the future of thousands of students.