PTI forward block leader denies external pressure in Karachi mayor election
PTI member Asad Aman says the block would sit in the opposition in the KMC
June 18, 2023
Asad Aman, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) forward block said on Saturday that the 32 PTI members who refrained from voting in the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) mayor election did so without any external pressure.
During an interview with Geo News, he said that he would explain the reasons for not voting in favour of the Jamat-e-Islami candidate Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman in response to the show-cause notice issued to him by the party.
Furthermore, Asad said that they would play the role of an Opposition against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with full force, while sitting on the opposition benches.
He also made it clear that they are accountable to the party, not to Hafiz Naeem.
It is noteworthy that 32 UC chairmen from PTI were absent during the voting for Karachi's mayoral elections on June 15th. The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) candidate had accused the PPP of kidnapping them in order to manipulate the election in favour of Murtaza Wahab.
However, the PPP countered the claim by asserting that the PTI members abstained from voting for Hafiz Naeem due to their own reservations, without any external influence.
Eventually, Murtaza Wahab of the PPP secured the position of Karachi's Mayor with 173 votes, while Hafiz Naeem of the JI followed him with 160 votes.
