KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Monday blamed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Pakistan Peoples Party for “stealing its mandate” in Karachi and Hyderabad and announced that it would launch a movement to mobilise its supporters in order to get back their “stolen mandate”.

Speaking at a press conference here at the Karachi Press Club, PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh claimed that independent candidates belonging to his party had won 20 of Karachi’s 22 National Assembly seats and two Hyderabad seats.

The MQM-P had won 15 NA seats in Karachi and two in Hyderabad, while the PPP succeeded on seven NA seats in the metropolis.

Accompanied by PTI-Karachi president Khurram Sher Zaman and others, he said that the upcoming government at the Centre would hardly survive five months.

Haleem Adil says his party won 20 of city’s 22 NA seats but ROs changed results in Forms-47

Commenting on the results of the Feb 8 general elections, he said that the people voted for the PTI and Form-45s were the undeniable proof of its victory.

He said that the party’s iconic election symbol ‘bat’ was snatched and the Election Commission gave strange symbols to our candidates. Even internet service was shut down on the day of polling, but the people still voted for us in a huge numbers.

“The nation gave its verdict in the favour of PTI,” he said, adding: “But the returning officers illegally changed the results in Forms-47.”

The PTI leader said that the party had won 183 NA seats from the country, including 20 in Karachi and two in Hyderabad. “Our worker Arslan Khalid defeated MQM-P chief Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui,” he claimed.

“Our mandate was stolen in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other cities as well. We will move courts and take back our snatched mandate,” he said.

He said that the PTI would launch a mass mobilisation campaign in the metropolis to thank its voters.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sher Zaman said the people should boycott “thieves”.

He said that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had only showed Form-45s of his Larkana seat.

“Our intra-party elections are going to be held on March 3 and after that we will go to courts with evidence as we have confidence in our judiciary,” he added.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2024