PPP hopes Murtaza Wahab will win Karachi mayor election

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Wednesday expressed its confident on winning the election of mayor Karachi with electing Murtaza Wahab as new mayor Karachi while brushing aside the allegations made Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), saying that, blinded by misplaced ambition and rejecting our spirit of reconciliation and unity JI opted for a massive campaign of baseless allegations of rigging in the elections without bringing up any evidence.

“All these false allegations fell on their face when in 100 percent of the cases lodged against us in the courts by JI our candidates came out clean. “We condemn the false accusations of JI that we were pressurising or buying the PTI voters,” said Secretary General PPP Sindh Senator Waqar Mehdi, Taj Haider, Senator Anwar Lal Haidri and Chief PPP Media Coordinator Nazir Dhoki while addressing a press conference on Wednesday.

Senator Taj Haider said the nexus of JI and PTI is very dangerous. “The announcement by some of the PTI voters about not voting for JI appears to be part of the general exodus of PTI leaders and workers from their party after the shameful attacks on our military installations on the 9th of May, organised by their top leadership. In Karachi their leaders like Ali Zaidi and Imran Ismail and many others have also left their Party,” he said.

He said JI on the other hand has never condemned the attacks of the 9th of May and even they have gone to Zaman Park and requested the support of the main planner and mastermind of those attacks to support them in the election of mayor Karachi.

Taj Haider said after their visit to Zaman Park after the shameful events of 9th of May it is now no secret that JI is supporting the PTI Taliban and their Afghan policy of settling the TTP in Pakistan. “We shall not allow Karachi to become a refugee camp of TTP Taliban. Nor shall be allow TTP terrorists and religious extremists to resettle in Karachi or anywhere else in our country,” he said.

He said Karachi, a progressive city whose people had even in the Ziaul Haq dictatorship had always supported the PPP in its struggle for democracy and the cause of the working classes had suffered immensely because of the political and militant support of the ultra-reactionary JI.

He said the political terrorism against the progressive students who raised their voice against military dictators was introduced in the educational institutions of Karachi by the Thunder squads of the JI student wing. “The wave of terrorism and religious extremism in the country because of which 85,000 Pakistanis have lost their lives and because of which state institutions stand divided is the outcome of the policies of Ziaul Haq and JI combine,” he said.

Taj Haider said the PPP has always done the politics of reconciliation, we want to work together for the betterment of Karachi. He said the leadership, the workers gave their lives, the law and order situation in Karachi has improved, the politics of bigotry and hatred has been ended in Karachi. “We have always stood firm against linguistic and religious terrorism, Karachi has been a developed and beloved city,” he said. In the 1970 election, he said the PPP got 11 out of 16 seats in Karachi.

Taj Haider said the PPP won in Karachi and has the right to be the mayor of Karachi. “If any other party wins with a clear majority, we will accept their mandate,” he said.

Senator Waqar Mehdi said that JI succeeded whenever MQM or other parties boycotted it. He said the PPP won 104 seats in Karachi, Malir Cantonment Boards election was won by PPP. “Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman never spoke the truth and used the politics of lies. The language of JI is that of Altaf Hussain,” he said.

He said the PPP had won Korangi town, there are 25 towns in Karachi, 13 of which were won by PPP and swept the entire Sindh while JI is talking about linguistics, we gave our lives for peace in Karachi.

He said as many as 30 elected members of the PTI have announced not to vote for JI and PPP. “We have never engaged in politics of Changa Manga while JI's job is to mislead people. Currently, PPP and its allied parties have 174 votes, JI has 130 votes and PTI has 63 votes and 30 of PTI members has announced boycott.

Senator Anwar Lal Din said that JI people are afraid of the leadership of PPP and their decisions, that's why they are running away, our mayor Murtaza Wahab will win.