In an emergency press conference called Saturday, the Jamaat-i-Islami announced that it was boycotting elections in protest against what they called the threatening and scaring of voters in several constituencies of Karachi and Hyderabad.

Party chief Syed Munawar Hasan accused the MQM of being directly involved in the incidents of violence and rigging.

"Even in Hyderabad, our workers were beaten with weapons and pushed out of the polling stations in two constituencies," said Hasan.