KARACHI: After days of tension caused by allegations and counter-allegations by three major political parties over the results of the Jan 15 local government elections in Karachi, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Thursday renewed its offer of an alliance with Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on the upcoming mayoral election.

In what appeared to be the first such contact between any two contesting parties after polling, the PPP reached out to the JI to convince it on the officer. However, the JI stood firm on its demand of “fair results first and then any dialogue”.

The PPP move came after JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman levelled serious allegations of rigging against the ruling party; and JI Emir Siraj ul Haq sought intervention by former president and PPP supremo Asif Ali Zardari in stop “use of provincial administration to manipulate the results and change original vote count”.

A PPP delegation led by provincial ministers Saeed Ghani and Imtiaz Sheikh visited the JI Karachi headquarters Idara Noor-i-Haq and held talks with the JI leadership.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, the two sides shared their sides of stories and their observations regarding the Jan 15 polls. The PPP, interestingly, continued to maintain a reconciliatory tone for the JI, which remained undeterred with the ruling party’s offer and insisted on fair results of the elections first.

Ministers counsel peaceful ways to settle LG polls results, other issues

“The dialogue between parties is a political process and it must go on,” said Hafiz Naeem while talking to reporters. “We welcome the PPP delegation, but with all due respect, we have made it clear to the PPP leadership and the visiting ministers that there must be an initiative from their side to address our grievances, which are very clear. We want fair results of the LG elections and recognition of our mandate. They have assured us that they would play their part. Once this issue is resolved, further dialogue will be held.”

He demanded a halt to the recounting process in different union councils under the district returning officers and asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to carry out the exercise under its own supervision.

Saeed Ghani, who is also president of Karachi PPP, repeated his offer of an alliance with the JI in the formation of the local government for Karachi. He said such an alliance would be in the best interest of the city and its people.

“We have come here on the directives of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to listen to JI’s grievances,” he said, and added: “We have assured the JI leaders that any issue that falls under the provincial government’s domain would be addressed. For those matters which fall under the judiciary and Election Commission, the JI is free to pursue them with the institutions concerned. The government won’t put any hurdles; we discussed different prospects and, as I said earlier, we wish that the PPP and JI join hands for development in Karachi and serve the people of this city”.

Mr Ghani advised all contesting parties to respect each other’s mandate and approach the forums concerned for their justified grievances. Violence and agitation, he said, would not serve the purpose as this could be counterproductive for the city’s political harmony.

“We expect the parties to show some political maturity as the city cannot afford any new challenge after suffering terrorism, lawlessness and politics of hatred fover decades,” added Mr Ghani.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2023