At least one person was killed and over a dozen injured in violent clashes among workers of Mutahida Qaumi Movement - P (MQM-P), Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) during the NA-240 by-poll in Karachi.
The injured persons, including 18-year-old Waleed Qudrutullah, Mohammed Idrees, 30, Khalid Chohan, 42, Salman Aslam, 35, Zeeshan Waris, 34, Aslam Ali, 35 and Nabeel Habib, 38, were brought to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre from the Landhi area.
Saifuddin Kaleem, who had suffered bullet injuries, was brought dead to the centre.
The Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) said that its senior leaders and election office were attacked during the polls, adding that Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers fired at its party chairperson Syed Mustafa Kamal during a media talk. It further said that Kamal was also attacked by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) workers in Landhi-6.
On the other hand, MQM-P MPA Khawaja Izharul Hassan said that at least eight MQM-P workers were beaten up by PSP members in the presence of the police and Rangers, adding that the PSP workers barged into polling stations and beat up polling staff.
He said that violence initially erupted between TLP activists and the PSP, however, both parties then attacked MQM-P workers and tortured them.
Moreover, the Edhi Foundation said that during clashes in Landhi-6, its ambulance that was on duty to rescue the injured was fired upon but all staff are safe and performing their duties.
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took notice of the violent clashes and instructed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Nabi Memon and the Karachi police chief to take strict action against the persons involved in firing incidents.
“We can’t allow anybody to disrupt the peaceful polling process,” he said.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja also took notice of the incidents and directed Sindh's provincial election commissioner to ensure strict action across the board against the culprits such as the registration of a first information report.
The contestants in the by-poll include Muhammad Abu Bakar of MQM-P, Shahzada Shahbaz of TLP, Shabir Ahmed Qaim Khani of PSP, Syed Rafiuddin of Mohajir Qaumi Movement, Nasir Rahim of PPP, Syed Faizan Anis of PML-N, and Tanveer Ahmed of Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA).
The PTI has boycotted the election while Jamaat-e-Islami is also not participating in the election.
The total number of registered voters in NA-240 constituency is 529,855 of which 235,470 are female.
The NA-240 seat had fallen vacant after the death of MQM-P MNA Iqbal Muhammad Ali in April.
The injured persons, including 18-year-old Waleed Qudrutullah, Mohammed Idrees, 30, Khalid Chohan, 42, Salman Aslam, 35, Zeeshan Waris, 34, Aslam Ali, 35 and Nabeel Habib, 38, were brought to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre from the Landhi area.
Saifuddin Kaleem, who had suffered bullet injuries, was brought dead to the centre.
The Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) said that its senior leaders and election office were attacked during the polls, adding that Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers fired at its party chairperson Syed Mustafa Kamal during a media talk. It further said that Kamal was also attacked by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) workers in Landhi-6.
On the other hand, MQM-P MPA Khawaja Izharul Hassan said that at least eight MQM-P workers were beaten up by PSP members in the presence of the police and Rangers, adding that the PSP workers barged into polling stations and beat up polling staff.
He said that violence initially erupted between TLP activists and the PSP, however, both parties then attacked MQM-P workers and tortured them.
Moreover, the Edhi Foundation said that during clashes in Landhi-6, its ambulance that was on duty to rescue the injured was fired upon but all staff are safe and performing their duties.
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took notice of the violent clashes and instructed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Nabi Memon and the Karachi police chief to take strict action against the persons involved in firing incidents.
“We can’t allow anybody to disrupt the peaceful polling process,” he said.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja also took notice of the incidents and directed Sindh's provincial election commissioner to ensure strict action across the board against the culprits such as the registration of a first information report.
The contestants in the by-poll include Muhammad Abu Bakar of MQM-P, Shahzada Shahbaz of TLP, Shabir Ahmed Qaim Khani of PSP, Syed Rafiuddin of Mohajir Qaumi Movement, Nasir Rahim of PPP, Syed Faizan Anis of PML-N, and Tanveer Ahmed of Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA).
The PTI has boycotted the election while Jamaat-e-Islami is also not participating in the election.
The total number of registered voters in NA-240 constituency is 529,855 of which 235,470 are female.
The NA-240 seat had fallen vacant after the death of MQM-P MNA Iqbal Muhammad Ali in April.