Voters in an upscale district of Karachi turned out in low numbers on Sunday for a repeat of the parliamentary election there, a day after a prominent official in a major political party was gunned down in the area, officials said.
The district was a focus for accusations of election fraud during national voting on May 11, and voting there was suspended early that day after reports of violent intimidation. In particular, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf — a party led by the former cricket star Imran Khan that has made inroads among affluent Karachi voters — blamed the dominant party in the city, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, of trying to prevent his supporters from reaching the polls.
Then, late Saturday, a co-founder of Mr. Khan’s party, Zahra Shahid Hussain, 60, was shot to death outside her home in the same Karachi district, known as NA-250. Police officials described the shooting as an attempted robbery gone awry. But Mr. Khan and other party leaders immediately blamed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement as having been involved — an accusation that movement officials denied.
In a statement, Mr. Khan directly held Altaf Hussain, the leader of M.Q.M., who lives in London and is sought for questioning or arrest in Pakistan on several charges, responsible for the killing. Mr. Khan said Mr. Hussain “had openly threatened P.T.I. workers and leaders through public broadcasts.”
“I also hold the British government responsible, as I had warned them to act against Altaf Hussain after his open threats to kill P.T.I. workers. Unfortunately, the British government did nothing to stop his calls to violence and killings,” Mr. Khan said in his statement.
In a video message broadcast on Sunday, Mr. Khan reiterated his accusations against Mr. Hussain. “We will not let the sacrifice of Zahra Hussain go in vain,” he said.
During the run-up to the elections, Mr. Khan, buoyed by passionate support of predominantly young voters, repeatedly claimed that he would easily win a majority.
But those expectations were dashed in a strong election performance by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his party, which has already recruited enough independent lawmakers to form a parliamentary majority.
Since then, Mr. Khan’s party has staged protests in Lahore against Mr. Sharif’s party and in Karachi against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
On Sunday, Mr. Khan urged all political parties in Karachi to join hands on Monday in a protest rally against the movement. Mr. Hussain, his political rival, has responded by announcing counterdemonstrations across the city.
The upheaval was another example of how violence and politics remain closely intertwined in Karachi, a sprawling port metropolis that has long been riven by political turf wars that leave staggering body counts.
The killing on Saturday had an immediate effect on the voter turnout, despite the presence of army troops at polling places, officials said. Around 86,316 voters were registered to vote in the district, and turnout is usually quite high there. But as polling came to a close at 5 p.m., elections officials said that perhaps 10 percent of registered voters had cast a ballot — a stark contrast to the record 60 percent nationwide turnout on Election Day.
Politicians and analysts praised Ms. Hussain for her dedication and courage. “She was a very hardworking, eloquent and progressive woman,” said Shumaisa Rehman, a political talk show host with Pakistan Television. Ms. Rehman said she had spoken to one of Ms. Hussain’s two daughters after her death, but that the family would not yet speak publicly about the killing.
Zia ur-Rehman contributed reporting from Karachi, Pakistan.
Source: NYTimes
