PPP, Jamaat-e-Islami agree to continue delegation level talks
\n KARACHI
\nJamaat-i-Islami\u2019s (JI) Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said Thursday that he was hopeful the PPP, the ruling party in Sindh, would address the former\u2019s reservations about the recently held local government elections.
\nHe made the remarks after meeting with a PPP delegation led by Saeed Ghani, who is also the provincial information minister. During the meeting, both parties agreed to continue the delegation level talks. However, the alliance will be discussed after the results of the local government elections.
\nIn the first phase, adjustment will be discussed at the town level. However, the decision about the mayor and deputy mayor will not be made during the recent meeting. The meeting came days after the JI chief levelled serious allegation of rigging against the PPP, which led Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to contact him over the phone and assure him that legitimate concerns regarding the polls would be addressed.
\nIt is pertinent to mention that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has taken notice of alleged irregularities in six union councils (UCs) amid accusations by JI emir Sirajul Haq and PTI chairman Imran Khan that the PPP used the Sindh government\u2019s resources to \u201cmanipulate the results\u201d.
\nAt the outset of today\u2019s press conference in Karachi, Rehman said that recounting of votes was underway in some places, due to which problems were arising. \u201cWe have forwarded our complaints regarding what happened on the day of the polls to the election commission. In some places, the presiding officer along with the ballot box were picked up.\u201d
\nHe said that the main issue the party had was with obtaining the Form 11 and 12 and the subsequent \u201cchanging of the results\u201d. \u201cWe contacted the election commission and also the PPP to resolve this matter.\u201d He noted that the ECP would hear the party\u2019s reservations regarding some UCs on January 23.
\n\u201cBut UCs which are facing recounting issues [\u2026] recounting is a legal process but if illegal moves are made during a legal process, then it makes the whole exercise fake [sic] which has happened in this case.\u201d
\nHe said that the party had informed the Sindh government and the PPP of its reservations regarding the LG polls. \u201cI hope that Saeed Ghani bhai and his whole team will look at the issue and things will be resolved. We will wait and if things improve then there will be more talks.\u201d
\nProvincial Minister Saeed Ghani said that the PPP will try to remove reservations of the JI. \u201cWe want to go along with the Jamaat-e-Islami,\u201d he added. He said that the PPP will not create any hurdle in the decision made by the ECP about some union councils.
\nGhani congratulated the JI for securing a \u201cgood number\u201d of seats during the LG polls. He said that the PPP had contacted the party in an effort to hear their reservations and complaints.
\n\u201cWe have been saying for the past few days, since the results started coming in, that we want PPP and JI to work together in the city\u2019s local bodies. \u201cThis is a good opportunity for this city, the people and the local bodies that two mature political parties work together to improve the situation.\u201d
\nHe accepted that the JI had \u201cgrievances and complaints\u201d regarding the LG polls. \u201cAs you know, when elections take place, the entire exercise comes under the election commission and its laws. \u201cSo a lot of things do not fall under the government. Despite that, we assured them that if the Sindh government can play a part in addressing the JI\u2019s reservations, then it will do so.\u201d He noted that the JI had taken the legal route to address their grievances, saying that this was their \u201cright\u201d. \u201cWe will not become an obstacle in this regard or oppose it in anyway.\u201d He said that electoral watchdog had taken notice of the six UCs which the JI had expressed reservations about.
\n\u201cThe district returning officer and the returning officer have been stopped from working further. There is no activity being carried out there.\u201d He said that the Sindh government would accept whatever decision the ECP made and would move forward according to the law. He said that the two parties would settle the matter and would continue to talk so that they could reach a \u201cbetter end result\u201d.
\nResponding to a question, Ghani expressed the hope that JI would also \u201csurely\u201d wish to work with the PPP in the near future. \u201cWhen both parties have to work together, then tensions between their workers are not welcome under any circumstances. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PPP, Jamaat-e-Islami agree to continue delegation level talks KARACHI Jamaat-i-Islami\u2019s (JI) Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said Thursday that he was hopeful the PPP, the ruling party in Sindh, would address the former\u2019s reservations about the recently held local government elections. He made the remarks after meeting with a PPP delegation led by Saeed Ghani, who is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308490,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-308476","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n