KARACHI (HRNW) – Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh, accompanied by PTI Sindh General Secretary Dr Masroor Siyal, PTI candidate for PS-09 Agha Imtiaz, Agha Arsalan, MPA Rehan Bandoqda, Muhammad Ali Baloch, Moazzam Khan, Farooq Korai, Basir Ali Khan and other party leaders, addressed an important press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Monday.
Haleem Adil Sheikh Sheikh said a tragic incident occurred in Gulshan-e-Iqbal last night where three-year-old Ibrahim fell into an open manhole and died. “The parents had stepped out for shopping, but the criminal negligence of the PPP government has once again destroyed a family,” he said.
He added that the child’s body was recovered after 15 hours of search efforts led by local residents, highlighting the collapse of civic governance. “Despite receiving Rs30 trillion over 18 years, the Sindh government has failed to provide even manhole covers in Karachi. The mayor belongs to PPP, the provincial government belongs to PPP, they cannot escape responsibility. We will take the murder case of Ibrahim to court.”
He demanded answers from Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the Sindh Chief Minister and the Karachi Mayor, saying: “Who will protect the lives of innocent children? Karachi pays billions in taxes; we will not allow this city to be deprived of basic facilities. Our mandate in Karachi was also stolen and handed to MQM, PPP, and Jamaat-e-Islami. We will reclaim our stolen mandate through the people’s strength.”
Haleem Adil Sheikh said PTI was denied a level playing field in the February 8 general elections and forced to contest in an unfair environment after its election symbol was withdrawn. “Form-47 was used to transfer PTI’s winning seats to others. We issued a 300-page White Paper based on reports from international institutions and foreign media. Despite filing 158 election petitions, not a single one has been decided.”
He said PTI won 180 seats, yet the results were altered through Form-47, while the party’s petition in the Supreme Court remains unheard. He alleged that votes were shifted into the accounts of losing candidates and that not holding elections within 90 days was a blatant constitutional violation.
Haleem Adil Sheikh said massive rigging took place in the Haripur by-poll. “On the basis of Form-45, PTI candidate Shehrnaz Omar Ayub was leading by 25,000 votes, but Form-47 reversed the result to show a 43,776-vote victory for the PML-N candidate creating a fake swing of nearly 70,000 votes.”
He said PTI possesses 589 original and verified Form-45s bearing signatures and thumb impressions of presiding officers and polling agents. “Shehrnaz won 395 polling stations. Yet the Election Commission did not upload a single Form-45, Form-46, or Form-48, which is itself an admission of fraud. Presiding officers were forced to abandon forms within seconds, and results were apparently entered remotely from Islamabad.”
Sheikh announced the boycott of PS-9 Shikarpur and other by-polls, saying elections have turned into a “rigged circus” where results are prepared beforehand. “Our candidate Agha Imtiaz was strong, but contesting such predetermined elections is pointless. Results in Umerkot and other constituencies were also manipulated.”
Haleem Adil Sheikh said Imran Khan, “a leader of the Muslim world,” has been denied meetings for one month, which he termed a deeply concerning development. “Even the KP Chief Minister is not allowed to meet him. Imran Khan is imprisoned for the rights of the nation; now the nation must decide whether it will stand with him.”
He condemned the punishments awarded to PTI leaders in “fabricated cases,” noting that Khan has been imprisoned for 850 days, Bushra Bibi for 586 days, Shah Mahmood Qureshi for 840 days, and many others for up to 30 years.
Agha Imtiaz said he had already been allotted an election symbol but was withdrawing due to the engineered nature of the process.
Dr Masroor Sial said the Election Commission had played “the worst role in Pakistan’s electoral history.” He said Form-45 was rendered meaningless and the decision on reserved seats was undemocratic. He added that PTI would have won in Shikarpur and elsewhere under fair elections, on the pre poll rigging situation the party is boycotting the PS-9 by-poll.
PTI leader Agha Arsalan said that PTI holds a strong majority not only in urban areas of Sindh but also in rural constituencies. He stated that whether in Karachi or Shikarpur, Form-47 is pre-prepared in by-elections, rendering the people’s vote meaningless. “Our election preparations were complete, but under a rigged Election Commission, we cannot participate in any by election,” he said.
Issued by: Muhammad Ali Baloch Advisor & Spokesperson, PTI Sindh
