In a significant move, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party declared its support for the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) candidate in the upcoming election for the Karachi mayor’s position. The announcement, made on Twitter, was accompanied by allegations from the PTI that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a strong contender in the mayoral election, had engaged in pre-poll rigging and the abduction of local government representatives.
This announcement comes in the midst of discussions between the PTI and JI regarding the formation of the upcoming city and town councils. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, the JI Karachi chief and the party’s nominee for the mayor’s post, stated that a total of 184 seats were required to establish a local government in the city and win the election for Karachi mayor. He claimed that after forming a coalition with the PTI, the JI’s total number of seats would reach 191.
Rehman’s assessment was based on the results of the local government elections in Sindh. Initially, the PPP emerged as the winner in Karachi with 93 seats, while the JI secured 86 seats, and the PTI obtained 40 seats during the polling exercise on January 15. However, revised results in March, which excluded 31 union councils, brought the PPP and JI in a close race for the mayor’s position, with the former winning 84 union councils and the latter securing 82.
Naeem expressed confidence in his victory after joining forces with the PTI and stated that his party had offered the position of deputy mayor to the PTI. He mentioned that the JI and PTI should accept each other’s mandates and engage in a give-and-take approach. Naeem accused the PPP of harassing PTI leaders, conducting raids, offering bribes, and attempting to influence them, which he considered detrimental to democracy and the PPP’s own government.
Rehman alleged that the PPP had won in areas with smaller average voter counts of 15,000 to 20,000 by manipulating the delimitation process, while the JI had emerged victorious in constituencies with an average of 45,000 to 50,000 voters. He expressed hope that the JI and PTI could secure victory in three to four more towns after pending cases in the high court and the Election Commission of Pakistan were resolved.
When asked about concerns regarding the allocation of powers, Rehman cited Article 140A of the Constitution, stating that the JI would not complain about power distribution but would instead focus on their work. He asserted that if the PPP did not grant them their rightful powers, the JI would strive to acquire them. Rehman expressed confidence that the people of Karachi would support the JI when they witnessed the party’s commitment to serving the public.