JI ready to give Karachi deputy mayor’s slot to PTI: Hafiz Naeem

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said Monday that JI is ready to give the deputy mayor’s slot to its ally Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the JI’s mayor will be elected in the metropolis, ARY News reported.

While talking to the ARY News programme ‘11th Hour’, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said that they are still in contact with the PTI leaders after May 9 incidents. “We hope that the elected PTI LG [local government] members will not go against the instructions of their party chief.”

“JI had already unveiled the name of the Karachi mayoral candidate before the LG polls. JI is also holding negotiations with other political parties to get support for its mayor.”

“We have also contacted Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP),” he added.

READ: Karachi mayor to be elected through show of hands, Sindh govt tells ECP

The JI Karachi chief claimed that an internal fight is going on in PPP over the mayoral candidate Murtaza Wahab.

He expressed confidence that JI’s mayor will be elected in Karachi in the upcoming polls. “If LG representatives cast their votes against the party orders, then it will not be counted and they would face disciplinary action.”

Earlier, Hafiz Naeem claimed that the PPP will fail to prove its majority and the JI will win the mayor’s election.

Talking to media here, Hafiz Naeem, JI’s candidate for Karachi mayor, said his party was in contact with the PML-N and others but the parties take their own decisions.

He said that Karachi’s biggest problem is electricity, the city is facing load-shedding and over-billing.

Talking on the JI petition in Supreme Court, Hafiz Naeem said it is a public interest case. He asked the court to emancipate the city from the menace of load shedding.