The ongoing sit-ins by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Muttahida Qaumi Movement in protest against alleged rigging in general elections continued on Wednesday.
The PTI protests in Lahore’s DHA entered its fourth day against alleged rigging by PML-N candidate Khwaja Saad Rafique, and protesters called for a re-election under army’s watch.
Dozens of PTI workers have been camping out at Lalik Chowk in Defence since May 12 in protest against rigging in NA-122 and NA-125.
The participants demand that ECP take notice of stealing of their mandate and order recounting in the constituencies.
The PTI supporters said the PML-N candidates influenced election results and turned PTI victory into defeat in collaboration with state machinery.
Meanwhile, the MQM also continued with its sit-in outside the Election Commission of Pakistan office in Karachi, demanding re-polling in the entire NA-250 constituency of Karachi.
The MQM also filed a petition with the Sindh Election Commission demanding re-polling in the entire constituency of NA-250 Karachi.
The sit-in started on Tuesday night in which hundreds of MQM workers, including women, gathered outside the ECP office, holding banners and placards and chanting slogans against the election authorities for alleged rigging in the electoral constituency.
Addressing the party’s protest sit-in, MQM chief Altaf Hussain said no one would be allowed to snatch the mandate of the MQM.
He urged Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim not to try creating rifts by ordering re-elections in some polling stations of NA-250, and asked him to conduct re-polling in the entire constituency under the Pakistan Army.
Altaf Hussain said the number of sit-in participants would ramp up gradually with the passage of time.
Separately, the Jamaat-e-Islami also staged a protest demonstration against irregularities in election and urged the Election Commission to hold re-election in Karachi.
Addressing participants of a sit-in attended by a large number of men and women near Numaish Chowrangi, JI leaders Muhammad Hussain Mehnti, Assadullah Bhutto and Miraul Huda Siddiqui demanded of the ECP to carry out re-polling in Karachi.
Mehnti said that the JI boycotted the election to save the city from bloodshed and to expose “Thappa mafia”.
They also rejected ECP decision to hold re-polling at few polling stations of NA-250.
Later, the Sindh election commissioner took notice of spate of sit-ins arranged by various political parties across the city.
The Sindh chief secretary also ordered the Karachi commissioner to submit a report on the sit-ins.