In Pakistan’s Sindh, four electoral battles that may go down to the wire

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Updated 28 January 2024
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In Pakistan’s Sindh, four electoral battles that may go down to the wire

  • Last-ditch efforts by candidates to win public support have created a buzz in four hotly contested Sindh constituencies 
  • NA241 Karachi, NA-194 Larkana, NA-246 Karachi and NA-203 Khairpur are expected to see closely fought battles 

KARACHI: As political activity in the country gains steam ahead of national polls on Feb. 8, electoral battles in some constituencies will be more closely fought than in others, with Pakistan’s southern Sindh province being no exception.

Arab News visited four key constituencies in Sindh where multiple political heavyweights will be locking horns and the contest will most definitely go down to the wire. 

NA-241 Karachi 

The NA-241 constituency in Karachi — a city of over 18 million people that is home to Pakistan’s main port, stock exchange and central bank — consists of the upscale Defense Housing Authority (DHA) and Clifton areas, and part of the Old City area. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Khurram Sherzaman, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Dr. Farooq Sattar, Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Dr. Ikhtiar Baig and Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Naveed Ali Baig will be locking horns for the National Assembly 241 seat. 




Commuters move past the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) flags hung over a street in Karachi on January 12, 2024, ahead of the upcoming general elections. (AFP)

Pakistan’s incumbent president, PTI’s Dr. Arif Alvi, won NA-241 in the 2013 national elections, securing 76,305 votes, and again in the 2018 election with 91,020 votes, but resigned from the seat after he was nominated for the Pakistani presidency.

After Alvi’s resignation, PTI’s Aftab Siddiqui won the by-election in the constituency with 32,456 votes. In the past, JI’s Abdul Sattar Afghani and MQM’s Khushbakht Shujaat had won the seat in 2002 and 2008 elections, respectively. 

Muzzamil Aslam, a senior PTI member, said the party had a strong position in the constituency despite the election regulator’s move last month to strip the party of the bat election symbol, meaning its candidates now had to contest as independents, each with a different election symbol.

In Pakistan, election symbols appear on ballot papers, with voters able to put a stamp on their symbol of choice. The ballot paper also has names, but over 40 percent of Pakistan’s 241 million population are illiterate, making the pictures extra important for recognition.

A majority of Pakistan’s constituencies are in rural areas where the literacy rate is around 50 percent, according to the economic survey of 2022-23, but in Karachi, a major urban center, PTI leaders hope the loss of the bat symbol won’t be a decisive factor. 




Workers install flags of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Party on the rooftop of a building, ahead of the upcoming general elections, in Karachi on January 24, 2024. (AFP)

“The bat has gone, which has diluted the impact, but interestingly, our opponents have not been able to estimate things,” Aslam said, hoping that PTI supporters would once again vote for the party.

Taj Haider, a senior PPP leader, said his party’s candidate had been assured by residents they would vote for the PPP. 

“The people are not happy with the PTI and are now supporting us,” Haider said.
 
Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, who heads the MQM-P, said the party’s candidate Dr. Farooq Sattar, who has previously served as mayor of Karachi and been elected to the National Assembly multiple times, was the best choice.

“He’s served Karachi many times,” Siddiqui said. “He is one of the most educated and grassroots leaders of the MQM.”

Siddiqui said the MQM-P had a better chance at winning this election than the PTI due to the “conditions” that the PTI had been facing, referring to a crackdown against the party since May last year, when its supporters staged violent demonstrations in the country over Khan’s brief detention in a graft case. The crackdown has seen several senior PTI figures defect, be arrested or go into hiding. Khan is himself currently in jail in a graft case and faces multiple other legal cases in courts across the country.

Still, Nadia Naqi, a Karachi-based analyst, said the MQM-P would face a “challenge” in winning the battle for NA-241. 

“It constitutes the majority of those areas where people have more of a liking for PTI, it has a huge support of PTI, we must not forget that,” she told Arab News. 

“So, I think it will be a lesser challenge to PTI right now and more of a challenge to Farooq Sattar.”

NA-194 Larkana 

The NA-194 constituency is the hometown of the Bhutto dynasty, which has ruled Sindh for decades and given the nation two prime ministers. However, its Pakistan Peoples Party is expected to witness a tough contest here between PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Rashid Mehmood Soomro, a senior member of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam (JUI) religious party. 




Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (R) submits his nomination papers to the returning officer in Larkana of Sindh province on December 24, 2023, ahead of the upcoming 2024 general elections. (AFP/File)

Primarily comprising Ratodero Taluka and parts of Larkana Taluka, NA-194 also includes a portion of Larkana city, the hometown of PPP founder and former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. 

In the last election, Bhutto-Zardari won in Larkana with 84,426 votes, while JUI’s Soomro stood second with 50,200 votes. 

The PPP had done its homework and like the previous elections, its candidate would win the election despite the opponents forming an alliance, PPP’s Haider said.

However, Shahzeb Jilani, an analyst who belongs to the same constituency, said the PPP would face tough competition in Larkana, as the JUI candidate had run a formidable campaign against the PPP in 2018 even though the PPP eventually won the election.

“It is certainly not an easy ride for Bilawal Bhutto to win the seat,” he told Arab News. “The only problem in Sindh is that the threshold of opposition is not that high to defeat a [PPP] candidate.”

NA-246 Karachi 

This constituency includes Mominabad town and parts of Karachi West district and will be hotly contested between JI Karachi chief Naeem-ur-Rehman and MQM-P’s Ameenul Haque, a former federal minister for IT. 




A billboard of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) featuring their leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, along a road in Karachi on January 12, 2024, ahead of the upcoming general elections. (AFP)

In 2002, MQM’s Muhammad Abdul Rauf Siddiqui won this seat with 62,690 votes, while Dr. Abdul Qadir Khanzada was the winner in 2008. In 2013, MQM’s Mehboob Alam emerged victorious in the constituency with 166,836 votes, whereas Haque won the seat in 2018 by defeating PTI’s Muhammad Aslam and JI’s candidate secured third position with 21,812 votes. 

“The MQM will completely sweep and there has never been a challenge for the MQM [in NA-246],” MQM-P chief Siddiqui said, adding that the seat had consistently been won by his party since 1980s. 

Rehman said the JI was a better option as it had spoken up for the resolution of various public issues in Karachi in recent months.

“No one else held their hand but the Jamaat-e-Islami resolved 80 percent of their issues,” he said. 

Naqi agreed that Rehman was a candidate who had been highlighting Karachi’s issues, including of electricity and gas tariff hikes, issuance of national identity cards and water shortage. 

“Jamaat-e-Islami, in that manner, has had a very good presence in terms of connecting with the people,” she said. “If he really loses that seat, then there’s something that is wrong, the Jamaat e Islami has to put that right ingredient. And if the MQM really wins that seat, we’ll have to see the margin also.” 

NA-203 Khairpur 

The Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s (PMLF) Pir Sadaruddin Shah consistently won the seat in the 2002, 2008, and 2013 general elections with 63,520, 97,347, and 86,982 votes, respectively. However, PPP’s Pir Syed Fazal Ali Shah Jilani defeated Shah by bagging 95,972 votes in the last election in 2018. 




Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) chairman and Prime Ministerial candidate Bilawal Bhutto Zardari waves toward supporters during a campaign rally for the 2024 general elections in Khairpur in Sindh province on January 14, 2024. (AFP/File)

They will now be facing off against each other again. 

“This seat originally belongs to us and we will reclaim it,” said Sardar Raheem, PML-F’s general secretary. 

But Jilani, the analyst, said the PPP had been seen consolidating its position in constituencies where it did not win previously. 

“For Sadruddin Rashidi, he’s been winning that seat because they have their own set of spiritual followers,” he said, adding that Fazal banked on the PPP vote and his own planning to win the seat in the last election and he would be trying to pull the same feat once again.


Pakistan rejects Indian NSA’s claim of ‘zero damage’ in military standoff

Updated 11 July 2025
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Pakistan rejects Indian NSA’s claim of ‘zero damage’ in military standoff

  • The two nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged missile, drone and artillery strikes in May 2025
  • Pakistan says Ajit Doval’s statement is a ‘distortion and misrepresentation’ of actual facts

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday dismissed Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval’s remarks claiming “zero damage” to military targets inside his country during the four-day military standoff between the two South Asian nuclear states, calling it a “distortion and misrepresentation” that violated established norms of statecraft.

The remarks follow Doval’s comments at a university convocation in India, where he highlighted the precision and success of the Indian military operation against Pakistan, saying New Delhi did not suffer any collateral damage during Pakistan’s retaliation.

In May 2025, the most intense India–Pakistan military confrontation in decades erupted, with both states exchanging missile, drone and artillery strikes following an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people.

India blamed Pakistan without providing evidence as the administration in Islamabad denied the charge and called for an impartial international probe.

“The remarks of the Indian NSA are replete with distortions and misrepresentations,” foreign office spokesperson, Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan, said during his weekly news briefing. “They not only reflect a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, but also violate the norms of responsible statecraft.”

“Boasting of military aggression against a sovereign nation is a grave breach of the United Nations Charter and established principles of international law,” he continued.

Khan urged India to acknowledge the downing of six fighter jets including three Rafales, as well as the damage inflicted on Indian military targets instead of peddling “fictitious narratives.”

He said that glorification of a conflict did not benefit anyone, highlighting that the path to a lasting peace was in “dialogue, mutual respect and adherence to international law.”

Doval said New Delhi’s initial operation against Pakistan had lasted for “23 minutes.”

“We hit nine terrorist targets deep inside Pakistan — not near the border, but across its crisscrossed terrain with pinpoint accuracy,” he told the students. “We missed none and we hit nothing else.”

He also criticized the international media for highlighting Pakistan’s strikes inside his country, saying there was no evidence that “even a glass pane was broken.”

After four days of intense conflict between India and Pakistan, a US-mediated ceasefire was agreed on May 10, halting the confrontation amid global alarm over the risk of escalation.


Pakistan to complete pilot project for digital currency rollout by June next year

Updated 20 min 12 sec ago
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Pakistan to complete pilot project for digital currency rollout by June next year

  • The development follows establishment of Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority that will regulate the country’s virtual economy
  • Analysts expect the regularization of digital currencies will help expand the country’s tax net by an estimated $25 billion in virtual assets

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank plans to complete a pilot project for a digital currency within the current fiscal year ending June 2026, its spokesperson said on Friday, as the country cautiously moves toward adopting blockchain-based payments and strengthening oversight of its virtual asset economy.

The pilot announcement follows the establishment of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) through a presidential ordinance earlier this week.

The law empowers the authority to regulate the country’s growing crypto market, crack down on money laundering and terror financing, and promote responsible innovation — a move analysts say could bring an estimated $25 billion in virtual assets into the tax net.

“We hope to complete the pilot within the current fiscal year,” Noor Ahmed of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) told Arab News when asked about the rollout timeline. “Tech partner and other details will be announced in due course.”

Shankar Talreja, head of research at Topline Securities, said it was too early to say who would use the digital currency, since a pilot was still being launched, though he said it could benefit most bank account holders.

“Since this would be backed up [by the] central bank, so existing digital payment users can use this for payments,” he said. “The challenge would be if merchants accept this initially.”

The South Asian nation had long remained under scrutiny for weak financial controls and was only removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list” in 2022. The creation of PVARA is seen as part of Islamabad’s broader effort to cautiously formalize the virtual asset space.

“The legality of digital assets has been a grey area in Pakistan in the recent past from a practical standpoint,” said Nayab Babar, the chief investment officer at the Prime Minister’s Pakistan Startup Fund.

“Creation of the crypto council is an extremely important development which gives confidence to consumers and corporates alike, that there is a way forward to legally participate in this booming asset class without fear of losing money,” he added.

Farrukh H. Khan, the chief financial officer at Jazz, Pakistan’s largest digital operator and a unit of global telecom giant VEON, also welcomed the new regulatory measures.

“It is the right approach that we pilot it and cautiously move forward,” he said while pointing out the government’s decision would help document Pakistan’s “very large” base of crypto investors.

“According to Binance, which is one of the largest [digital] trading platforms, about 15 million Pakistanis are registered on their platform,” he said.

To integrate digital assets into the economy, the government earlier launched the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) in March and later appointed Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as a strategic adviser.

The move has been welcomed by retail traders like Muhammad Huzaifa, who said the lack of legal cover had previously left crypto investors vulnerable.

“Sometimes few government institutions like the FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] freeze the bank accounts of traders,” said the 33-year-old.

“These laws will lend more freedom and space for traders as they can buy, sell and invest in crypto easily without any fear,” he added.
Asked about his digital holdings, he said he was managing multiple accounts “between $50,000 to $100,000.”

Farhan Hassan, the chief digital officer at easypaisa Digital Bank (eDB) with over 50 million users, praised the creation of PVARA as a key step toward safer adoption.

“Pakistan has long been poised for broader crypto and blockchain adoption, but it lacked the regulatory clarity to unlock its full potential,” he said.

“This landmark development sets the foundation for a secure, transparent and regulated framework to guide the growth of virtual assets in Pakistan.”

Hassan added that eDB was “uniquely positioned” to collaborate with regulators in piloting, testing, and scaling financial solutions aligned with both global standards and local needs.

CHALLENGES

Still, analysts caution that implementation could be challenging due to the government’s institutional capacity.

“The regulators may lack technical capacity and real-time monitoring tools to fully oversee crypto markets,” said Muhammad Waqas Ghani, head of research at Karachi-based JS Global Capital.

He maintained that Pakistan’s stock market was a more regulated and secure investment option, offering greater protection against fraud and manipulation compared to the still-evolving crypto space.

Pakistan may also require the International Monetary Fund’s approval if it plans to subsidize electricity for future crypto mining and AI data centers.

“[The IMF] staff reiterated the importance of maintaining a level playing field for all private sector participants and will continue to engage with the authorities on this as appropriate as plans develop further,” Mahir Binici, the IMF’s resident representative in Pakistan, said this week.

Talal Ahmad, an official from the office of State Minister on Blockchain and Crypto Bilal Bin Saqib, did not provide any details in response to Arab News queries.

“A lot of these questions don’t have answers at the moment. Could you wait until we pass the regulation law [from parliament]?” he said.

Asked who would be the first users of Pakistan’s digital currency, SBP’s Ahmed said the central bank would share such details at a later stage.

Pakistan’s push follows the example of countries like India, which launched a pilot e-rupee in 2022.

The Reserve Bank of India initially allowed selected banks to use it for settling secondary-market transactions in government securities before extending it to the retail sector.


Pakistan launches vehicle emissions testing in Islamabad to combat air pollution

Updated 49 min 52 sec ago
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Pakistan launches vehicle emissions testing in Islamabad to combat air pollution

  • Smoke-emitting vehicles entering the federal capital to face fines or be impounded
  • Pakistan aims for 30 percent of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030 under EV policy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched emissions testing for vehicles entering the federal capital, Islamabad, in a bid to reduce air pollution and improve air quality, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said on Friday.

The move follows the launch of the emission testing system in the country’s most populous Punjab province in May, the first initiative of its kind ever taken in the country.

Emissions testing for vehicles is a process that measures the pollutants released from a vehicle’s exhaust to ensure compliance with environmental standards. It evaluates the levels of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides.

“The greatest damage caused to the environment is through vehicle emissions,” Chaudhry said while speaking to the media.

“Such testing has never been conducted before in Islamabad, but it has been initiated now,” he continued, adding that every car would be checked according to international standards before being certified.

Chaudhry announced the government would first inspect official vehicles before expanding the initiative to private vehicles.

“No smoke emitting vehicle will be allowed to enter Islamabad,” he added. “If it enters, there will be a fine, cars will be impounded and it will be dealt according to law.”

Earlier this year in June, Pakistan unveiled its Electric Vehicle Policy 2025–2030, setting a target for 30 percent of all new vehicle sales to be electric by the end of the decade.

The policy, which covers cars, buses, motorcycles and rickshaws, aims to accelerate Pakistan’s transition to sustainable transport, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and curb climate-warming emissions.

Pakistan imports the majority of its energy, and its urban centers rank among the most polluted in the world, primarily due to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions.

This severe air pollution poses a serious threat to public health, undermines economic productivity and diminishes the quality of life for millions of residents.


Google expands creative AI tools in Pakistan with Veo 3 and Flow

Updated 11 July 2025
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Google expands creative AI tools in Pakistan with Veo 3 and Flow

  • Users can now transform their favorite photos into vivid eight-second video clips with sound
  • The photo-to-video feature on Veo 3 requires users to upload images and describe the scene

KARACHI: Google has expanded access to its advanced video generation model, Veo 3, allowing users in Pakistan and over 150 other countries to create eight-second videos from photos with sound, the company said in a statement released Friday.

The move comes amid a global surge in interest in creative AI tools, with content creators using different platforms to generate video stories and bring still images to life. With Pakistan’s growing pool of digital creators, the rollout is expected to spur local innovation in short-form content.

“This new capability allows users to transform their favorite photos into vivid eight-second video clips with sound through a powerful photo-to-video feature built on Veo 3,” Google said.

To use the feature, users select “Videos” from the tool menu, upload a photo, and describe the scene and audio. The system then generates a video that can be downloaded or shared.

The tool is accessible through Gemini, Google’s AI-powered assistant that combines search, image generation and content creation features into a single interface.

These capabilities are also integrated into Flow, Google’s AI tool for filmmakers, which now supports speech, background audio, and sound effects.

Google also underscored its commitment to responsible AI development.

“All videos generated with Gemini include a visible watermark and an invisible SynthID digital marker to indicate they are AI-created,” it said.


Pakistan, UAE agree to ease visa process for Pakistani citizens

Updated 11 July 2025
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Pakistan, UAE agree to ease visa process for Pakistani citizens

  • Mohsin Naqvi discusses enhanced security, anti-narcotics, and tech cooperation during Abu Dhabi visit
  • Pakistani interior minister briefed on crime prevention and public safety at UAE police operations center

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to take “necessary steps” to facilitate visa issuance for Pakistani citizens during a high-level meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Emirati counterpart in Abu Dhabi, according to an official statement released on Friday.

The development comes amid growing concerns over visa delays and restrictions reportedly faced by Pakistani nationals seeking employment in the UAE. Last month, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also raised the issue in a meeting with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.

The UAE is home to over 1.5 million Pakistanis and remains a major source of remittances.

“It was also mutually agreed to ensure necessary steps to facilitate visas for Pakistani citizens, especially work visas,” the interior ministry said in a statement issued after the meeting. “The UAE Minister of Interior assured full cooperation in this regard.”

Naqvi said the fraternal relations with the UAE were valued by all Pakistanis. He also highlighted that a large number of them were playing a key role in strengthening the UAE’s economy.

“We want Pakistani citizens to be able to come to the UAE easily and easing visa policies will greatly benefit them,” he added.

During his talks with UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lt. Gen. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation in multiple areas including security, anti-narcotics, anti-smuggling and preventing illegal immigration.

The discussion also included regional peace and the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence to tackle security challenges.

Later, the Pakistani minister visited Abu Dhabi’s state-of-the-art police operations room, where he was briefed on crime prevention and public safety systems.

He expressed particular interest in the UAE’s advanced police monitoring model and praised the country’s use of technology for law enforcement.