The race for Karachi’s mayor office took an interesting turn on Saturday as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) threw its weight behind Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman for the coveted post.

A PTI spokesperson confirmed the development and alleged that the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was involved in pre-poll rigging.

The spokesperson alleged that the PPP, through the Sindh Police, was “abducting” elected representatives of the party before they can be sworn in.

The Imran Khan-led party contended that the PPP after running away from the municipal elections four times wants to elect the mayor in a hurry.

“PTI has also approached the court on this matter. The mayor should be elected through a transparent process,” said the spokesperson, alleging that the PPP and MQM do not want the public mandate to be accepted.

After the latest development, JI’s Hafiz Naeem is in a strong position to be elected as mayor.

However, there is many a slip between cup and lip.