KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has expelled all but one elected local government representatives who defied party directives and abstained from voting in the election of Karachi mayor.
PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Shaikh announced that in the next phase the party would follow legal procedure to have 31 of the 32 members unseated from City Council.
He said one PTI member of the City Council, who was elected on a seat reserved for women, justified her absence by claiming she was in hospital on the election day and, therefore, no action will be taken against her.
In a video statement, Haleem Adil Shaikh said there is “no space for traitors in these challenging times when the party is going through its toughest phases of its history.”
He said the LG members were given an opportunity to come up with an explanation and justify their absence on the day of the mayor’s election. However, he said all of them failed to provide a satisfactory explanation to a committee set up to look into their cases separately.
He said a woman councillor, who was also absent on the day of polling, was admitted to a hospital and gave birth. He said no action will be taken she had genuine medical reasons for her absence on the day of the elections. He said her membership remained intact and the party hoped that she would play an active role on the opposition benches in the City Council.
مئیر کراچی الیکشن میں @PTIofficial پی ٹی آئ کے
چئیر مین عمران خان @ImranKhanPTI کے واضع احکامات کے باوجودجماعت اسلامی @JIPOfficial کے امیدوار حافظ نعیم الرحمان @NaeemRehmanEngr کو ووٹ نا دینے اور الیکشن کے دن غیر حاضر رہنے پر تحریک انصاف نے کے ایم سی کے 30 چئیرمین اور ممبران… pic.twitter.com/ex3quajq5b— Haleem Adil Sheikh (@HaleemAdil) June 27, 2023
Shaikh said that the party’s legal team was now pursuing cases to have the expelled party members disqualified from the City Council. He said the party will contest elections on all the seats to be vacant after the disqualifications. He said they will not give up and continue struggle against the “fake mandate” of the PPP.
The election for Karachi mayor was held on June 15 between Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Murtaza Wahab and Jamaat-i-Islami’s Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman.
The JI made an electoral alliance with the PTI and their collective number in the City Council was 192 compared to PPP’s 173 that formed an alliance with the PML-N and JUI-F.
However, 32 members of the City Council belonging to the PTI did not turn up to the polling station and abstained from voting. The PPP won the election by securing 173 votes against JI received 160 votes.
