Karachi LG polls: JI Karachi chief demands deployment of army, Rangers

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has demanded the deployment of Rangers and Pakistan Army in the upcoming Karachi local government (LG) polls, ARY News reported on Sunday.

While addressing a press conference in JI Karachi headquarters Idara Noor-e-Haq today, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman demanded to ensure the organisation of LG polls on January 15 and necessary steps to make the polling process fair and free.

He also demanded the higher authorities make fool-proof security arrangements. He alleged that violations of the election code are being made in Sindh.

He criticised the Sindh government committed record corruption in the province and its poor performance has been exposed before the nation.

The JI Karachi chief said that the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) did not own Karachi but they want to occupy the metropolis.

READ: ECP ANNOUNCES KARACHI LG POLLS SCHEDULE

Naeemur Rehman said that there are 11 federal ministers of the PPP but they did not play any role to approve the water quota for the metropolis.

The hospitals owned by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) including Abbasi Shaheed Hospital are turned into heaps of garbage due to the government’s negligence.

A few days ago, it was learnt that Karachi Local Government (LG) polls are likely to be postponed for the seventh time as the Sindh government wrote another letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) had already written a letter to change the delimitation for the LG polls. In the letter, the political party also gave a reference to the petition filed in the Supreme Court (SC) regarding the changes in the delimitation.

Moreover, the opinion of the Advocate General (AG) Sindh was also included in the letter regarding the changes in the LG delimitation.

It is pertinent to mention here that the new phase of the Sindh LG polls are scheduled for January 15 in Karachi Division after its postponement six times.

Sources told ARY News that the delimitation will be changed in light of AG Sindh’s opinion and the court directions.

It emerged that the Sindh government sent the letter to the ECP following the advice of the MQM-P. The MQM-P leaders had opposed the organisation of LG polls on different occasions until changes are made to the delimitation.