Islamabad: A scheduled by-election in Karachi for a vacant seat in the assembly of the Sindh province has been deferred for more than three weeks due to volatility in the port city rocked by a fresh wave of murders.
The by-election for a provincial assembly seat would now be held on October 17, the Election Commission said. The seat fell vacant after the assassination of Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) legislator Syed Raza Haider in August.
The by-election was postponed after the Mutahidda Qaumi Movement said its leaders and workers were in a state of grief after the assassination of party’s convener Dr Emran Farouq in London last week.
Karachi, economic hub of the country, has been in the grip of tension after the reported murder of more than a dozen people in different areas. Paramilitary Rangers and police have been deployed in the areas to contain the violence.
MQM leader Dr Farouq Sattar told a news conference in Karachi on Monday that some elements wanted to malign the party by linking the renewed cycle of killings to the assassination of Emran Farouq.
He said the situation was normal until Sunday when suddenly “terrorists and murderers went on a killing rampage” and according to reports 12 people, including two MQM workers, had been killed since then.
Sattar, who is also a federal minister, said the failure of the authorities to maintain law and order in Karachi had “forced us to believe that the interior ministry and the Sindh home department were responsible for these acts”.
