Daily Times

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has triumphed in all six positions of the mayor of metropolitan corporations in Sindh including Karachi.

PPP’s Murtaza Wahab has been elected Mayor of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and Kashif Shuro has been declared successful in the mayoral race of Hyderabad.

Arsalan Islam Shaikh of PPP has been elected as Mayor of Sukkur Municipal Corporation while Abdul Rauf has won the mayor set of Mirpur Khas, the official source revealed.

Similarly, Anwar Ali Lohar has managed to secure the mayorship of Larkana Municipal Corporation while Rashid Bhatti has been elected as Mayor of Shaheed Benazirabad Municipal Corporation. The PPP has managed to score 20 out of 22 chairmanships of district councils of Sindh. In 30 out of 36 municipal committees of Sindh, PPP has won the chairmanships of the municipal committee. The PPP has got 121 out of 141 sets of the chairman of town committees in the local government election. Out of the 44 Town Municipal Corporations of Sindh, the PPP candidates have been declared successful on 27 sets.

Meanwhile, clashes erupted between JI and PPP supporters outside the Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) in Karachi on Thursday after the polling for the city mayor’s election concluded. South Deputy Inspector General (DGP) Irfan Ali Baloch said clashes broke out after reports of PPP’s Barrister Murtaza Wahab winning the polls surfaced. Karachi police detained eight suspects after the clashes at the ACP, where the polling was held. Hours later, South Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Syed Asad Raza said all detained JI workers had been released.

According to Returning Officer (RO) Nazr Abbas, Wahab won the election for the seat of the mayor by acquiring 173 votes while JI’s Naeemur Rehman remained runner-up with 160 votes. In a media talk a little after 5pm, he said PPP’s Salman Murad was successfully elected as the deputy mayor after bagging 173 votes and defeating JI’s Saifuddin, who managed to get 160 votes. “Starting from 9am, votes were cast by raising hands and then validated in the register,” Nazr told reporters, adding that the process was conducted four times for both the mayor and deputy mayor.

He also stated that PTI’s Firdous Shamim Naqvi failed to cast his vote. Immediately after the results emerged, scuffles were reported between JI and PPP workers. TV footages showed huge crowds of supporters pelting stones at security personnel blocking projectiles with their riot shields. SSP Raza said some JI supporters started raising slogans against their rivals which resulted in a clash between both parties and a “law and order situation”. The official said the police attempted to control the situation by charging batons against enraged supporters. “During this, two to three JI members were injured.” He later said three injured people were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. “They had sustained minor injuries and were discharged after first aid,” he added.