JI owes its LG poll victory to MQM’s boycott: Ghani

Sindh Labour and Human Resources Minister Saeed Ghani on Monday claimed that if the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) had not boycotted the recent local government elections in Karachi, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) would have lost the race.

In a statement, Ghani responded to a letter from JI chief Sirajul Haq to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), in which he demanded that the mayoral post in Karachi be given to his party.

He said that the demand from the JI had no principled basis and that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had secured votes in the local government elections in Karachi based on its performance, without making any false promises. He added that the PPP had won over the people of Karachi through its public service, and that the mayoral post would not be given to anyone on a silver platter.

Ghani went on to predict that neither the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf nor the JI would secure any victory in the next elections to be held in Karachi. He alleged that after the PTI, the JI had attempted to blackmail the ECP.