KARACHI: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq on Sunday said the era of ethnicity-based politics had ended and the people in Karachi would vote for those who served them in the past.

“Karachi is a city of politically-conscious people and those who still want to play the ethnicity card will no longer succeed in future elections,” said Mr Haq while addressing JI’s Karachi Youth Convention at Bagh-i-Jinnah.

The JI emir claimed that his party was the only political force in the country which had organised its youth, in Karachi in particular, at the grass-roots level, adding the young leadership of the party had been elected at the union council level, which was itself unique in the country’s history.

“This is what we call real democracy,” he said.

The JI chief said all political parties in the country were holding rallies only to champion politically meaty issues while his party was still raising the issues related to the common people.

He said that other parties which ruled the city had always ditched its people.

“Except for Jamaat-i-Islami,” said Mr Haq, “every other party, which has ruled Karachi has ditched its people. We are the only one who served Karachi whenever got power and even when we are not in the office we never stop from serving our people.”

Earlier, Mr Haq administered the oath to elected office-bearers of the JI’s youth wing in Karachi.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2018