TLP to hold protest against alleged rigging on August 12 in Karachi

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KARACHI: Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a nascent religiopolitical party founded by Khadim Hussain Rizvi, on Thursday proclaimed to hold a demonstration in Karachi on August 12 against an alleged poll rigging in the recent general elections, and threatened to stage a sit-in or even lead a long march to the federal capital, if the party’s demands are not met.

TLP could not acquire any national assembly seat, but managed to emerge as the fifth largest political party of Pakistan by gaining a substantial number of votes.

Although, the party secured only two provincial assembly seats by participating for the first time in the elections, it gained over 2.23 million votes in the National Assembly elections and it bagged more than 2.38 million votes on provincial seats, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

“We were defeated through a massive rigging,” a TLP representative said.

TLP, being the political front of Tehreek-e-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah, gained importance in the national-level politics in November 2017, when it staged a sit-in at Islamabad’s Faizabad Interchange over alterations made in the Elections Bill 2017.

Later, the sit-in followed similar protests in other parts of the country.

In a hope of becoming a significant stakeholder in the metropolis, the TLP aims to plan another similar activity led by Rizvi.

Earlier, the party had decided to hold a rally from the shrine of Data Ali Hajvery to the Punjab Assembly in Lahore on August 6.