The PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) established a joint committee on Saturday during the second phase of the Sindh local government elections to “get back what was stolen in rigging” and count Form-11s, which are polling station result forms issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
PTI leader Ali Haider Zaidi stated, “The committee will comprise of four members, two each from both parties,” in a press conference with JI Karachi Chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman.
In 16 districts, the second phase of Sindh’s elections for local government took place on January 15. Major opposition parties, including the PPP, who were concerned about the unusual delay in Karachi’s results, blamed the ECP for mismanagement.
The electoral body took more than 36 hours to announce the results of 236 union committees in Karachi despite opposition parties PTI and JI’s claims that the provincial administration was “rigging and managing things” in its favor. The appointive guard dog has not yet reported the outcomes, so challenging gatherings are uncertain of their command.
In a joint interview with the media today, Zaidi claimed that PTI’s “mandate was stolen” from nearly forty union councils.
“We have all the Form 11s,” he stated. He stated, “We have decided to sit together with Form 11s in our hands.” Prior to the elections, PTI and JI have communicated.
In the meantime, the joint committee will “exchange notes and Form 11s” throughout the procedure, as stated by JI’s Rehman.
“Jamaat-e-Islami has presented itself [in the elections], and of course, it currently has a position to hopefully appoint our mayor,” he stated.
Rehman thanked Zaidi and his team for “accepting [and] welcoming” JI’s mandate by declaring, “We have agreed that we will help each other for the protection of our individual mandates.”
He went on by expressing that notwithstanding the current “political showdown and contrast of sentiments,” both JI and PTI had chosen to arrive at an agreement to improve the city.
Rehman made the statement, “JI can play its role and is ready to serve the city with a mayor [appointed through consensus] if the PTI is up for it,” implying that the two political organizations might form a coalition in order to elect a mayor for Karachi.
“We [PTI and JI] share a working relationship,” despite all of the negative statements that have been made previously.
The JI chief asked the PTI to “help” his party so that “the 35 million residents of Karachi can breathe a sigh of relief.”
Zaidi responded by stating that other high-ranking party leaders would be consulted prior to making a decision.
The JI boss met with the PPP assignment drove by Saeed Ghani on Thursday to attempt to come to an understanding. He expressed optimism that the PPP, which had the most seats in the most recent elections, would address the concerns of his party regarding the matter.
Ghani had expressed the hope that the JI would also “certainly” wish to collaborate with the PPP in the near future and had promised Rehman that the Sindh government would respond to the JI’s complaints.
