PTI leaders hold Haleem Adil Sheikh responsible for defeat in PS-88 by-poll

• Qadir Bakhsh Kalmati says Haleem Adil used the PTI for personal gains due to which the party’s popularity had been on the decline
• PTI Malir leaders criticise PPP-led Sindh government for “destroying the district”
• PTI candidate Jansher Junejo got 4,870 in the PS-88 by-polls

ISLAMABAD: The PTI leadership in Karachi's Malir has held Sindh Assembly opposition leader Haleem Adil Sheikh responsible for the humiliating defeat in the PS-88 by-poll, The News reported Thursday.

The party leaders from the Malir district where the by-poll was held on Tuesday have also asked Prime Minister Imran Khan and Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to investigate why they lost.

The demand came during a press conference addressed by the PTI’s recently resigned president, Qadir Bakhsh Kalmati, senior leaders Inayat Khattak and Tariq Baloch, and other office-bearers, who accused Sheikh of intentionally fielding a weak candidate to ensure the victory of the PPP candidate.

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In the PS-88 by-election, PPP candidate Yousaf Baloch won the constituency by bagging more than 24,000 votes against TLP candidate Syed Kashif Shah, who ranked second after bagging 6,099 votes. PTI candidate Jansher Junejo and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan candidate Sajid Ahmed got 4,870 and 2,634 votes respectively.

The constituency had fallen vacant due to the death of PPP MPA and Sindh minister Ghulam Murtaza Baloch from coronavirus in June last year.

Kalmati, according to the publication, alleged Sheikh had used PTI and its workers for personal gains which is why the party’s popularity had been on the decline in the city.

“In the 2018 polls, PTI candidate Captain (retd) Muhammad Rizwan ranked second by bagging 16,386, but now when the PPP was in the worst situation because of its bad governance and corruption, PTI candidate Junejo ranked third by gaining around 4,800 votes,” he said.

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He claimed that Junejo was working as a contractor with Baloch. “Because of an understanding between Sheikh and PPP leaders, Junejo was given the PTI ticket to pave the way for Yousaf Baloch’s victory in the by-poll,” he alleged.

The PTI leaders also criticised the PPP-led Sindh government for “destroying the district”. 

“Entire cultivation has been destroyed while more than 20,000 acres of land have been occupied in the district, thanks to the provincial government,” he alleged.

In January, Kalmati had resigned from the District Malir president’s post in protest over the awarding of the party ticket to Jansher Junejo for the PS-88 by-poll. He had warned the party’s leadership of a humiliating defeat.