JI slams arrest of PTI representatives before oath taking

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Ameer, Engineer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, has pledged to defeat the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and its fascist tactics.

He strongly criticised the party for employing tactics, which involved preventing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) representatives from participating in oath-taking ceremonies to diminish the number of JI members eligible for the election of the city mayor.

Rehman expressed his views while addressing the media after assuming the position of chairman of his Union Council (UC) at the Pakistan Medical and Dental College (PMDC) on Monday. He highlighted that the elected chairman and vice chairman from UC 5, Channaser Goth area, who belonged to the PTI, were arrested during the oath-taking ceremony at the behest of the PPP.

Rehman noted that the chairman from UC 10 in North Nazimabad, affiliated with the PTI, was unable to attend the oath ceremony as he had already been arrested. He questioned the feasibility of such actions in a democratic system.

He further stated that the electoral process had been hijacked and transformed into a method of imposing feudalism instead of a democratic system. Referring to the PPP's historical track record, Rehman emphasised that the party had previously refused to accept the people's mandate in 1970, which had resulted in the disintegration of the country. He argued that the PPP's mindset had not changed as they repeated similar tactics in 1977.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2023.