KARACHI: In a notable turn of events, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, the Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi, announced his resignation from the provincial assembly seat PS-129 (Karachi) on Monday, citing that an Independent candidate backed by PTI had garnered more votes than him.
Naeemur Rehman of JI emerged victorious on PS-129 (Karachi Central-VIII) with a vote count of 26,296. Among the seven provincial assembly seats in Korangi district, three were clinched by independent candidates, two by MQM-P, and one each by the PPPP and JI.
Speaking to the media, he expressed his view that the seat was being handed to him as a form of charity. He raised concerns about alleged rigging in the recent elections, stating that seats were distributed unfairly in Karachi. He accused MQM leaders, including Mustafa Kamal, of being declared winners despite facing defeat.
Rehman asserted that his opponents were determined to destabilize Karachi and emphasized his willingness to accept defeat with moral courage. He called upon the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to declare the true winners based on the returned candidates.
“We refuse to let our future generations suffer. Our struggle is for the rights of the people, and we will pursue a peaceful, legal, and constitutional fight,” he declared. Rehman revealed that he had written to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to address the alleged election rigging and demanded the release of results in accordance with Form-45.
Furthermore, he clarified that JI did not endorse violence or extremism and accused MQM of manipulating vote counts, claiming that an MQM candidate’s votes had been falsely inflated from 6,000 to 20,000.
