File photo of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Monday announced he is relinquishing his victory on the Sindh Assembly PS-129 seat, as his rival, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Saif Bari, had actually won the constituency.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Rehman said he did not want a “charity” seat, adding the Form-45s available with him suggested his PTI-backed opponent had won the seat. As such, he said, he was returning his victory and would not take oath of office for it. However, he added, the JI would continue its legal and political battle to reclaim any seats it had party lost due to alleged rigging.
“You cannot change the people’s mind through fake mandate,” he said.
According to Rehman, the PTI-backed candidate received more votes and he had “enough dignity” to not “steal” the seat from its rightful victor. Referring to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s Form-47, he said it showed he had secured 26,000 votes, while in actuality he had won 30,000. The website has MQMP’s Maaz Mukaddam in second place with 20,000 votes, followed by the PPP’s Asad Hanif in third with 15,000 votes and the PTI-backed candidate in fourth with 11,000 votes.
Claiming his decision to return the seat was a “slap” on the face of the ECP, he criticized the MQMP for celebrating its “fake mandate.”