KARACHI: Several political parties, including its major allies, early Sunday
called on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to reverse its
decision to boycott the second phase of the local government (LG) elections,
scheduled to be held today in several districts of Sindh as well as in Karachi
and Hyderabad divisions.
Hours before the polls were set to take place, MQM-P Convener Khalid
Maqbool Siddiqui announced boycotting “already rigged” polls after his party
held marathon consultations with different stakeholders.
The party’s statement came after it had demanded fresh delimitation before
holding the local body elections, and despite the Sindh government’s
announcement to delay the polls, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)
insisted that they go ahead — on January 15 — without further interruption.
PML-N leader and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan regretted the
MQM-P’s decision to boycott the elections. However, he said the party is
justified in its decision, he said.
In getting their demands met, the MQM-P struggled continuously and they
also convinced the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with arguments in their case,
he said. PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari also conceded the legitimacy of their
demands and directed his party to cooperate with the party, Sanaullah said.
The federal minister also criticised the ECP, saying it had failed to fulfil its
duty when one union council was formed with 90,000 voters on the list and
the other with only 15,000 of them.
Muttahida’s decision to withdraw from the elections has “discredited” the
electoral process, he said. Now, local body elections “lack the credibility and
democratic values they should have”, he explained.
In a press conference, Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Emir Hafiz Naeem-ur-
Rehman said that the MQM-P should have gone ahead and contested the LG
elections.
“Every political party has reservations. Jamaat also has reservations about the
delimitation of constituencies, voters’ lists, and census in Sindh,” the JI leader
said.
However, he noted that the MQM-P was involved in the approval of the
census during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. But he added
that now, it is incumbent upon the government and the ECP to ensure that
elections are held peacefully.
Rehman censured the MQM-P and said the party gets upset when it faces
failure “in its bargain”. “We would acknowledge that the party is strong if they
had left the government.”
“It is my desire that the MQM-P should join the electoral arena so that it
knows where it stands today,” he asserted, saying that the party’s workers are
not standing by it.
Rehman also emphasised that the JI would emerge as a major party in
Karachi. The party will form the local government and take everyone along
after success in the elections, he said.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh President Ali Zaidi took a jibe at the
MQM-P’s decision and said the party would not quit the government. He said
that the MQM-P had a plausible excuse to boycott the elections.
The PTI leader added: “We had already said that the MQM-P would boycott
the elections. The party does not have candidates to field in the elections.”
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel
Inam Memon expressed regret over the MQM-P’s decision and said his party
wanted the MQM-P to contest elections.
He called on the party to reconsider its decision, saying that the PPP tried its
utmost to address the reservations of the MQM-P.
Read more: Long-awaited LG polls kick off in Karachi, Hyderabad
