MQM-P retains NA-240 seat in violence marred by-poll

One person killed while 10 others, including Mustafa Kamal, injured

KARACHI:

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) candidate, Muhammad Abubakar, on Thursday retained the NA-240 Korangi seat during a violence marred by-election in which one man was shot dead while 10 others were injured.

The MQM-P received 10,683 votes while Tehreek-e-Labbaik came in second, Mahajir Qaumi Movement third, Pakistan Peoples Party fourth and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) fifth.

Despite having 529,855 voters in the constituency, the turnout could not even enter double digits as only 8.38% votes were cast in a total of 309 polling stations.

The Election Commission of Pakistan had connected the RTS system to two big screens in the DRO office where political party leaders and workers also saw the results live.

The polling started at 8am. Delays were also reported in some polling stations. Initially, the situation was peaceful but the turnout was very low which did not improve till evening.

According to the unofficial ECP results, Muhammad Abubakar of the MQM won with 10,683 votes. TLP candidate Shehzada Shahbaz came second with 10,618 votes. Syed Rafiuddin of the Mahajir Qaumi Movement came third with 8,383 votes. PPP's Nasir Rahim came fourth with 5,248 votes and PSP candidate Shabir Qaim Khani came fifth with 4,797 votes.

In the preliminary results, Mahajir Qaumi Movement was first and TLP second, but after Landhi, Korangi results started pouring in, which showed MQM-P first and Mahajir Qaumi Movement third.

The results on the screen and the changing numbers were nerve-wracking for both the parties – MQM-P and TLP.

It may be recalled that in the 2018 general elections, Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan of MQM had won the NA-240 by-poll by getting 61,165 votes while Muhammad Asif of TLP got 30,535 votes, Farrukh Manzoor of PTI got 29,941 votes, Abdul Jameel Khan of MMA got 19,323 votes, Afaq Shafqat of Mahajir Qaumi Movement got 14,376 votes, Muhammad Feroze of PPP got 7,586 votes and Asif Hasnain of PSP got 6,661 votes.

The by-election was marred by violence as one person was killed and several others were injured in a firing incident. Among the injured were PSP Chairperson Mustafa Kamal leader Iftikhar Alam.

The area became a battlefield during the riots while the Rangers were nowhere to be seen. The situation in the area remained extremely tense till late night.

According to details, by 3pm, the situation was peaceful and normal, but after 3pm there was a scuffle between the activists of the political parties and the series spread to different places.

Activists of political parties also clashed with sticks in different areas of Landhi.

The matter escalated to such an extent that the political party opened fire on the main camp of the opposition party, after which a series of two-way firing started.

The firing was so intense that a stampede broke out on the spot and everyone rushed to take cover.

The police and Rangers were completely absent, while shops and business centres in the area were completely closed.

Both, PSP chief Anis Qaim Khani and TLP leader Saad Rizvi claimed that opponents opened fire at their vehicles.

A bullet grazed Mustafa Kamal at Landhi No6.

According to the Jinnah Hospital’s management, the body of a man was brought to the hospital who was shot dead while more than 10 injured people also reached the hospital.

The deceased was identified as Saifuddin son of Kaleemuddin, aged about 65 years and a resident of Landhi No3.

The injured were identified as 30-year-old Waleed, son of Qudratullah, and 28-year-old Faizan, son of Kaleem, who were shot at.

Among those injured during fights and the stampede were 30-year-old Syed Ahmar, son of Syed Akbar Hussain; 35-year-old Salman, son of Aslam; 43-year-old Idrees; 35-year-old Aslam, son of Muhammad Ali; 42-year-old Khalid Chauhan, son of Sattar; 34-year-old Zeeshan, son of Waris; 34-year-old Bilal, son of Saleem; and 32-year-old Saifullah, son of Azad Khan.

PSP leader Alam was also injured in the firing and was rushed to a private hospital on Stadium Road for medical treatment.

The Edhi Foundation ambulance which was going to pick up the injured was also shot at but the driver fortunately remained safe. Three bullets hit the ambulance, shattering its windows.

According to the driver, two suspects on a motorcycle stopped him and when he told them he was going to pick up the injured, the suspects opened fire at the ambulance.

The situation was extremely tense till late at night when a heavy contingent of police and Rangers reached the area after the commotion.