KARACHI: The Jamaat-i-Islami staged a power show in Karachi on Sunday and vowed that it would emerge as the single largest party in Karachi in the Feb 8 elections.

The party also blamed the Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Mutta­hida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan — former coalition partners in the Shehbaz Sharif-led governm­ent — for the destr­uction of Karachi.

A large number of JI workers and supporters, including women and children, thronged Bagh-i-Jinnah to attend their party’s public meeting.

Speakers at the rally vowed to make Karachi a model city in the region.

“Today the PPP, PML-N and MQM-P are claiming themselves a messiah of this city, but one only wonders from where they gather the courage to face the people who they looted and deceived,” said JI chief Sirajul Haq.

“Let me tell these parties that their days of ruling Karachi and Pakistan are relics of the past. The people have identified them and they can no more be made fool,” he added.

Referring to the election manifestos of the three parties, the JI chief said that these documents carried nothing but hollow and tall claims.

“The parties which made scandalous contracts with the IPPs [independent power producers] are now claiming that they will give 300 units of electricity free to the people of Pakistan.” he said and questioned: “Isn’t it a joke that the bandits are promising for justice? Isn’t this an irony that looters are vowing for bringing peace? Isn’t this a tragedy that bunch of corrupt leaders of few families giving assurance of strong democracy?”

He said that the people had now become more aware and they won’t vote for “liars”.

Speaking on the occasion, JI-Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman shared the party’s ambitious programme that included rectification of anomalies in the population count of Karachi, empowerment of youth and women as well as best transport and health facilities.

“We will implement our party’s manifesto, specifically of Karachi, if voted to power in the Feb 8 general elections,” he said.

He promised to revive the Karachi Circular Railway and convert the bus rapid transit lines into a light train project.

To find your constituency and location of your polling booth, SMS your NIC number (no spaces) to 8300. Once you know your constituency, visit the ECP website here for candidates.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2024