Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar and five other party members filed petitions in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Saturday, alleging that their defeat in the recent general elections was a result of rigging.

Amir Moeen Pirzada from NA-241, Waqar Shah from PS-97, Masood Mehmood from PS-98, Asif Ali Khan from PS-126 and Jamal Ahmed from PS-130 also filed petitions, urging the high court to order recounting in their constituencies as they suspected rigging.

Sattar, who had lost from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's Aamir Hussain Liaquat from NA-245, cast doubts on the election results saying that MQM-P members who contested elections were not given Form-45. While talking to the media, he claimed that MQM-P members were "forcefully declared as losers" and that the elections were "engineered".

Take a look: NA-245 — a new constituency where Farooq Sattar is pitted against Aamir Liaquat

He also asked why the "presiding officers drove our polling agents out [of the rooms] during the counting process".

"Imran Khan had promised to reopen as many constituencies as we ask," Sattar said and added that he had evidence of rigging in his constituency. He then demanded the video footage of the counting between 7pm-1am.

"They [presiding officers] turned some people's victories into losses and others losses into victories," he said.

Pirzada, in his petition, alleged that ballot papers from his constituency were burned and dumped in a trash heap. He further said that he, along with other petitioners from the MQM-P, lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of Pakistan, but the body "remained silent even after such a huge incident".

Though Sattar highlighted the reservations of MQM-P members who lost the elections, he distanced himself from the other party members at the SHC. He filed his petition separately and did not talk to the other MQM-P leaders who were in the high court building at the time.

Opinion

Editorial

Defining extremism
Updated 18 Mar, 2024

Defining extremism

Redefining extremism may well be the first step to clamping down on advocacy for Palestine.
Climate in focus
18 Mar, 2024

Climate in focus

IN a welcome order by the Supreme Court, the new government has been tasked with providing a report on actions taken...
Growing rabies concern
18 Mar, 2024

Growing rabies concern

DOG-BITE is an old problem in Pakistan. Amid a surfeit of public health challenges, rabies now seems poised to ...
Provincial share
Updated 17 Mar, 2024

Provincial share

PPP has aptly advised Centre to worry about improving its tax collection rather than eying provinces’ share of tax revenues.
X-communication
17 Mar, 2024

X-communication

IT has now been a month since Pakistani authorities decided that the country must be cut off from one of the...
Stateless humanity
17 Mar, 2024

Stateless humanity

THE endless hostility between India and Pakistan has reduced prisoners to mere statistics. Although the two ...