Stamped ballot papers found from Gizri school in Karachi

They were reportedly stamped in favour of parties other than PTI

KARACHI: A student of the Government Secondary School Gizri found more than a hundred stamped ballot papers from his desk on the first day of school after the summer vacations.

The school was declared a polling station for the National Assembly constituency NA-247 and provincial seat PS-111.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Dr Arif Alvi has been declared the winner from NA-247 who defeated Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Abdul Aziz Memon, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's (MQM-P) Dr Farooq Sattar, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal's (MMA) Mohammad Hussain Mehanti and Pak Sarzameen Party's (PSP) Fauzia Kasuri.

According to the school administration, a student, Jabbar, found around 154 ballot papers from his desk, which were stamped in favour of the PPP, MQM and MMA candidates.

This is the second incident of the discovery of stamped ballot papers after the elections in Karachi.

A view of the ballot papers hidden inside the Gizri school. PHOTO: EXPRESS

Earlier in the last week, dozens of stamped papers were recovered from a garbage heap in Qayyumabad.

A teacher at the secondary school, requesting anonymity, said Thursday was the first day for many students including Jabbar who went to his class and found ballot papers inside his desk.

"He handed over the ballot papers to the class teacher. Later, the school administration informed about it to UC [union council] chairman Karmullah Waqasi who belongs to PPP," the teacher explained.

After they heard the news, various PPP leaders, including its Karachi president Saeed Ghani, Memon, Waqasi, PS-111 candidate Barrister Murtaza Wahab and Waqar Mehdi reached the school to ascertain the facts.

"Not a single ballot paper [found from the school] is stamped in favour of the PTI, which has rigged and won the election," said Memon, while speaking to The Express Tribune.

The PPP leader claimed that dozens of ballot papers had also been found from a garbage dump in Dehli Colony.

He asserted that discoveries of ballot papers indicated how election results were manipulated in favour of the PTI.



Elections results were changed in entire Karachi, Memon claimed. "We will approach the Election Commission and courts too, demanding for a re-poll in NA-247," he added.

Ghani explained that a majority of the stamped ballot papers were stamped in favour of the PPP and a few had stamp on 'Kite' and 'Book', the election symbols of the MQM-P and MMA respectively.

According to Ghani, even the PTI had not imagined that 'aliens' would give it such a heavy mandate.

Wahab questioned the credibility of the elections, stating that stamped ballot papers should not have been found if the elections had been free and fair.



"PTI has not got a single union committee seat from this constituency in the last local bodies election. Everyone wonders how they have swept the election in the entire NA-247 constitueny," Waqasi remarked.

PPP leader Saeed Ghani with the ballot papers. PHOTO: EXPRESS

Despite many attempts, Dr Alvi could not be contacted for his comments. However, PTI Karachi spokesperson Dawa Khan Sabir termed the rigging allegations baseless.

"It is the PTI wave which has washed away everyone. Now the PTI opponents are staging dramas," Sabir said, adding that everyone had the right to challenge the elections and the PTI would fight at every forum if its victory was challenged.