PPP candidates secure victory in Sanghar, Karachi by-polls

• PPP wins Sanghar, Karachi by-polls, while a PDM candidate emerged victorious in Pishin, according to unofficial results
• All three seats fell vacant last year after lawmakers elected from the seats passed away from coronavirus
• In Malir, the by-poll was marred by incidents of violence after the arrest of PTI's Haleem Adil Sheikh
  

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party has managed to keep both its provincial assembly seats in the by-polls held a day earlier in Karachi and Sanghar, according to the unofficial and unverified results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Polling took place on Tuesday in the by-elections for vacant Sindh and Balochistan Assembly seats — PS-43 Sanghar III, PS-88 Malir II and PB-20 Pishin III.

All three seats fell vacant last year after the lawmakers elected from the seats passed away due to the coronavirus.

Read more: Counting underway for by-polls at PS-43, PS-88 and PB-20 constituencies

According to unofficial results announced by the Election Commission, PPP’s Yousaf Baloch from PS-88 Malir and PPP’s Jam Shabeer Ali from PS-43 Sanghar won the by-polls.

The PDM’s candidate Syed Azizullah Agha emerged victorious in PB-20 Pishin.

Votes continued to be counted till after midnight Tuesday.

According to one group of sources, PPP’s Baloch secured 22,000 votes, with PTI’s Syed Kashif Ali tailing behind with 5,000 votes, TLP with 4,000 and MQM managing nearly 2,000 votes, The News reported.

PPP’s Ali won the poll in Sanghar by a wide margin against GDA’s candidate Mushtaq Junejo. According to the unofficial ECP results, Ali secured 48,032 votes against PTI ally GDA’s Mushtaq Junejo, who managed only 6,922 votes.

Read about the arrest of PTI's Haleem Adil Sheikh during the Karachi by-polls

Junejo has accused his rival of having the Sindh government's support and utilising state machinery to win the the by-election. Ali dismissed the charges of rigging and said voters had once again reposed their confidence in the PPP.

PTI's Haleem Adil Sheikh arrested amid by-polls in Karachi's PS-88

In Malir, Karachi, the by-poll was marred by incidents of violence, while the opposition leader of Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh was arrested for violating the orders of the ECP during the voting process, sparking outrage among the federal government’s leading party.

The situation remained tense with incidents of violence reported in several areas of Malir, for which both the PPP and the PTI blamed each other. 

Sheikh vows 'payback'

A video statement of Sheikh was released following his arrest.

"I have been informed by the SSP Malir that I have been arrested," he said.

"As Leader of the Opposition, I should have been given security," Sheikh said, adding that security was withdrawn "on the orders of Zardari and Bilawal".

He said that he was not present in the constituency but his workers were "attacked". "When I got there, I too, was attacked," he alleged, adding that his guards resorted to aerial firing to disperse the "attackers".

He further claimed that the party workers were forcibly removed from the polling stations and shoved around.

The PTI leader said that he was taken away from the constituency but was not allowed to leave the SP police's office. He also said that his guards were taken into police custody.