Saeed Ghani, a leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Sindh Labour Minister, announced on Monday that he had met members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and sought their support in the upcoming mayoral polls for Karachi.
During a press conference in the city, Ghani stated that he was making efforts and faced no restrictions in meeting with PTI members. He mentioned that they would request the PTI union council (UC) chairperson to vote in their favor.
Ghani added that it would be a favor to them if the PTI members voted for them, but ultimately, the decision was up to them. He also mentioned that the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) team would be on standby on election day.
Regarding the opposing Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Ghani mentioned that they were now approaching the Supreme Court and might find relief if they appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial.
It is important to note that on June 7, the JI challenged the amendment of the Local Government Act, which allowed unelected individuals to be elected as mayors in Sindh, in the Sindh High Court (SHC).
In addition, Murtaza Wahab, the PPP’s nominated candidate for mayor, criticized the JI and disputed Hafiz Naeemur Rehman’s connection to Karachi. Wahab emphasized that he himself, Ghani, and Salman Abdullah Murad were all born in the city.
Wahab suggested that Rehman’s birthplace should be verified by checking official documents, as he believed it was not Karachi.
Wahab stated that the PPP’s character and services would refute all allegations made by the JI at Shahrah-e-Quaideen. He expressed confidence that his party would serve the city for the next four years and beyond.
Last week, Ghani predicted that Naeemur Rehman would not receive more than 160 votes from the members of the City Council in the upcoming mayoral election for Karachi. Despite the JI and PTI’s collective strength of 193 members in the City Council, Ghani believed that not more than 160 would vote for Naeemur Rehman.
Ghani informed journalists that a majority of the newly-elected local government representatives from the PTI in Karachi had already informed their party leadership before May 9 that they would not vote in favor of the JI’s mayoral candidate.
