The Muttahida Qaumi Movement of Pakistan (MQM-P) has been very vocal about its desire for fair and accurate local government elections.
At a press conference with Wasim Akhtar and Aminul Haq, Farogh Naseem claimed that he and his colleagues have been debating the subject of Karachi and Hyderabad constituencies for quite some time. He also noted that the population distribution of Malir and Korangi constituencies is strikingly different.
According to him, delimitation is normally handled by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), but the Sindh government is handling it on its own. He went on to say that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had also agreed that there would be no local body elections until the constituencies were established. He went on to say that the PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) are “our brothers” and to wonder aloud why they had reversed course.
According to the ex-minister, lying to Karachi would be equivalent to using inaccurate constituency boundaries.
He said the consensus among all interested parties had been reached on the need to transfer authority to the state and municipal levels. We believe that elections for local government should be held quickly, but with fair districts, he explained.
He went on to add that his party will not be asking the ECP to delay the vote because of the weather or Muharram.
He continued, “We should not allow the people of Sindh to get disenchanted.” It’s important that locals have a voice.
Notably, the electoral commission delayed the second round of local bodies’ elections in Sindh yesterday.
At a separate press conference, Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri claimed that following the poll postponement, “extremely nasty propaganda” was launched against the provincial government.
She emphasized that the government of Sindh has never asked for a delay in the vote.
“Record rains have occurred in Karachi, yet despite this, the Sindh government did its job and cleansed the city,” she continued.
The minister claimed that the PTI did not field any candidates in the vast majority of Sindh’s local bodies.
Someone is “halal” if they join Tehreek-e-Insaf; otherwise, they are “haram” if they join another party, as she put it.
If you win the election itself, everything is OK; if you lose, the election is rigged, she said.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
