HYDERABAD: Acti­vi­sts of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) blocked a section of the Hyderabad by­­pass on Friday evening in protest against what they said rigging in the elections.

PPP’s candidates who were defeated in Hyder­abad included Ali Moham­mad Sahito, Waseem Rajput, Abdul Jabbar Khan and Sanam Talpur.

Rejecting the results, the protesters burnt tyres on the road. According to them, their candidates were defeated through rigging.

Earlier, speaking at a joint news conference on Friday evening at Rajput’s residence, PPP Sindh inf­or­­mation secretary and losing candidate on PS-64 Aijaz Dhamra, along with Waseem Rajput of NA-220 and Fareed Qureshi of PS-65, said that they were not provided the results. They said they had met the district returning officer (DRO) to ascertain the facts.

They said they were assured of providing the results and maintained that the PPP had controlled its workers, but it reserved the right to protest. If the independents would have received a large number of votes, the Peoples Party would not rob them of their mandate, they said.

They said that according to estimates, the PPP was having lead in the results. They wondered that when it was still not clear as to who lost or won, the other party was celebrating victory.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2024