After morale-boosting cantonment results, PTI, JI ask workers to gear up for LG polls in rest of Karachi

Results of Sunday’s local government elections in Karachi’s six cantonment boards have boosted the morale of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Jamaat-e-Islami, and their leaders have asked the workers to prepare for the upcoming local government polls in the rest of the metropolis.

Of the 42 wards in the six cantonment boards, the PTI won 14 councillor seats, followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) that got 11 seats, and the JI won five seats, according to unofficial results. Six independent candidates won the elections, while the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) got three each seats.

PTI’s position

The PTI has won most of the seats in Malir and Faisal cantonment boards, but it has lost the Cantonment Boards Clifton (CBC), one of its traditional strongholds, to the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Addressing a press conference at the Insaf House, PTI Karachi president and MPA Khurram Sher Zaman said on Tuesday that despite using the provincial government’s machinery, the PPP suffered defeat in the cantonment board elections. “The defeat of the PPP in the Malir cantonment shows that the ruling party in the province had rigged the by-poll in PS-88 [Malir] that were held in February,” he said.

Accusing the PPP of casting fake votes in the CBC, the PTI leader said that the Election Commission in the province had become a B-team of the PPP. He was hopeful about forming government in the CBC where the PTI has managed to win two out of 10 wards.

JI thanks voters

Congratulating the workers on achieving encouraging results in Sunday’s local government Cantonment elections in Karachi, Jamaat-e-Islami central chief Sirajul Haq directed them to gear up for another challenge of the upcoming local bodies polls in the rest of Karachi.

Addressing his party leaders and workers’ gathering at Idara Noor-e-Haq through a video link, he said that in the current scenario, the JI had become the only hope for the masses in the upcoming local bodies’ elections in the metropolis.

JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman said the party’s success in the cantonment polls was a result of the tireless and coordinated efforts made by the entire team. “The promising results of local bodies elections in Karachi cantonment areas have made it clear that the future of the city belongs to the JI,” he said.

The JI leader thanked all the voters for showing their trust in the party. He maintained that the JI would continue its struggle — under the banner of the Karachi Rights Movement — to ensure the provision of basic civic facilities and justice to the residents of the city.

During the convention, JI leader Raja Arif Sultan told the participants that five JI candidates won the elections by a significant margin. “On five seats, the JI candidates stood second by the margin of fewer than 50 votes, on two seats the JI candidates stood second by the margin of fewer than 100 votes, and on one seat by less than 150 votes,” he said.

The JI candidates scored more than 17,000 votes, while the majority of candidates stood second, Sultan said.

Wahab for consolidating victory in Manora

Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab met the newly elected representatives of the Manora Cantonment Board at his office on Tuesday, and said citizens fully supported the Pakistan Peoples Party in the cantonment board elections conducted on Sunday.

"The PPP got a historic victory in these elections and will continue to solve the problems of citizens. We will carry out development work so that this victory is maintained," he said while talking to the elected representatives of Manora Cantonment.

MPA Liaqat Askani, special assistants to chief minister Asif Khan, Ali Ahmad Jan, Focal Person for Local Government Minister for KMC Karamullah Waqasi, Manora Cantonment Board elected representatives Muhammad Tayyab and Muhammad Afzal Khan, and a large number of PPP workers were also present on the occasion.

Wahab said the PPP’s victory in Manora was a victory for all of them. "We are grateful to all the communities for supporting us and also for the workers who worked tirelessly and for the first time in history made the party's nominees successful.” He said elected representatives from Manora should serve the citizens.