All eyes on Nawaz for re-election in Karachi

Political parties of Karachi have contacted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif to get his nod for re-elections in the city over alleged rigging by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
All political parties, which claimed engineering during polls in Karachi and boycott the elections by withdrawing their candidates, have decided to issue a white paper over alleged rigging. Also, the affected parties agreed to provide evidence to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
However, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seems indifferent with other parties and instead of joining them to press the ECP for re-elections, has decided to knock doors of courts for re-polling.
“Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leadership called PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif to get his nod over re-elections in the metropolis,” Sindh JI chief Dr Mairajul Huda told Pakistan Today. “We apprised him about incidents of rigging during polls in the city and he has also shown his reservations on it.”
“JI has contacted Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (PST), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam- Fazal Group (JUIP-F), Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul Muslimeen (MWM) and Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) to get together on one platform to get their demand of re-elections in Karachi by the ECP,” he added.
“JI has requested to all the affected parties to gather evidences of rigging by MQM to issue white paper against the party,” Dr Huda said, adding that it has also been decided that all parties with evidence would go to the ECP to get their demand of re-elections in Karachi accepted.
“All parties of Karachi would sit together to chalk-out future strategy over rigging and re-elections at all the national and provincial assembly seats in Karachi,” MQM-H Vice Chairman Shamshad Ghauri said. “MQM-H believed that rigging has taken place on D-Day at all the polling stations of Karachi and there should be be re-elections in the city which should be free, fair and transparent,” he added.
“The mandate of Karachi residents was snatched on gun point and law enforcement agencies played role of silent spectator,” Ghauri accused adding that “we would knock the doors of ECP once again for re-elections by providing it with evidences of rigging carried out by MQM in the metropolis.”
“We have received calls from various parties showing reservations over rigging in the metropolis,” MWM spokesman said. “JI, PST, JUI-F and PPP called the party leaders and apprised them with their reservations on engineering of polls in Karachi,” he added.
“They were seeking support of MWM to press ECP to get their demand of re-elections at all national and provincial assembly seats in the city,” he told.
“MWM had allready demanded re-elections due to reported incidents of rigging during elections,” he said, adding, “The party leadership would hold meeting to decide weather MWM would accompany others political parties to get their demand of re-polling in Karachi with ECP or not.”
“We would hold sit-in across the city and knock doors of courts for re-elections in Karachi, a PTI leader and candidate of provincial assembly of Sindh PS-114 Israr Abbasi said. “We are not going to PML-N or others parties for holding re-elections in Karachi,” he added.
“We will fight until the last moment, but the others parties left the ground for MQM by withdrawing their candidates,” he alleged. “We would hold sit-in in Karachi and invite other affected parties to join them to get its demand of re-elections in Karachi accepted,” Abbasi added.