KARACHI: Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi has said that in the general elections a large number of people of Karachi have expressed their love for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) by giving vote to the TLP.

“This is the guarantee for the solidarity of Pakistan,” he added.

Allama Rizvi was speaking to the participants in a protest rally taken out from Civic Centre to the Mazar-i-Quaid on Sunday against the alleged rigging in the general elections.

Paying rich tributes to the people of Karachi and Sindh, Allama Rizvi riding a big trailer-truck equated the support for the TLP with that of the Pakistan Resolution, which was passed by the Sindh Assembly during the Pakistan Movement.

Referring to the 2018 elections, Allama Rizvi claimed that the Election Commission (EC) had sided with ‘corruption’ and “robbed the TLP of its votes”.

He described the Sunday rally as the people’s referendum against the EC which he declared ‘national criminal’.

He said the by-elections and local bodies’ polls would not be acceptable to the nation, if conducted by this election commission.

TLP Sindh chief Mufti Ghulam Ghaus Baghdadi, Karachi TLP patron Allama Syed Zaman Jafri Al-Quaderi, Karachi TLP chief Allama Razi Husnain and newly elected lawmakers participated in the rally.

The participants in the protest rally were holding national flags, party flags and banners inscribed with their demands.

Allama Rizvi asked Islamic countries to carry out their obligations and duties according to the sentiments of Muslim Ummah. He said criminals had distorted history of Pakistan and no one honoured agreements which were signed at the time of partition of India by Pakistan and India and refugees (Mohajirs) of Punjab and Sindh were not given their due rights by any government, which was injustice with the creators of Pakistan.

“The time has come that the National Accountability Bureau take to the task to the Evacuee Trust Property Board and bring them before the nation.”

He lauded Karachiites who defeated billionaire candidates by giving TLP’s poor candidates 4.5 lac votes and brought honour to the TLP. “It is an indication of change, which will soon spread throughout the country.”

He asked the people to be prepared for by-election and local bodies polls. He also criticised the PPP by terming it “just a regional party”. He described PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif as “enemy of national solidarity”, who were “pursuing policy of weakening Pakistan on the behest of their foreign masters” and asked the people to beware of them.

Allama Rizvi appreciated the role of Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2018