Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, announced his decision to vacate his provincial assembly seat, PS-129, in Karachi. He stated that he did not win the seat; rather, it was won by a candidate supported by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
پہلے ہی کہا تھا جو جیتے اسے جیتنے دو جو ہارے اسے ہارنے دو، میری جیتی ہوئی سیٹ پر فارم 45 کے مطابق پی ٹی آئی جیتی ہے۔ لہذا اپنے ضمیر اور اپنی جماعت کی اخلاقی روایات کے مطابق اپنی صوبائی اسمبلی کی سیٹ چھوڑنے کا اعلان کرتاہوں اور مطالبہ کرتاہوں کہ ہمیں ہماری ساری جیتی ہوئی سیٹیں… pic.twitter.com/qhd0eLe8No
— Naeem ur Rehman (@NaeemRehmanEngr) February 12, 2024
Naeem emphasized during a press conference in Karachi that he does not wish to hold a seat obtained through charity. He expressed his intent to continue the legal and political battle to regain all the seats lost by his party due to alleged rigging.
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In the February 8 general elections, Naeem initially won the Sindh Assembly seat PS-129 from Karachi Central. However, he asserted that the candidate supported by PTI emerged victorious on PS-129, not him.
He acknowledged that the PTI-supported candidate received more votes and stressed his acceptance of PTI’s victory and mandate. Naeem declared that he would not take the oath as an MPA on the seat and urged the PTI-affiliated candidate to assume office according to Form 45.
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He criticized the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the alleged discrepancies in the election process and rebuked the MQM-P for celebrating what he termed a “fake mandate.” Naeem claimed that a significant number of their polling agents did not receive Form 45, and he accused the returning officers of sealing their offices to prevent communication.
He further asserted that the people had given them more votes in the general elections compared to the previous year’s local government polls.