Imdad 
Low Voter Interest And Low Turnout
In spite of low voter interest and low turnout, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) won the by-election for Karachi’s NA-245 on Sunday, maintaining its majority in the district and giving the key rival Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), which was supported by the ruling parties at the centre, a setback one week before the city’s local body elections.
Unofficial results show that Mahmood B. Maulvi of the PTI won the by-election with 29,475 votes, defeating Moeed Anwar of the MQM-P who received 13,193 votes.
Mohammad Ahmed Raza of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) received 9,836 votes to finish third. Dr. Farooq Sattar, the unhappy MQM-P leader and creator of the MQM restoration committee who was running as an independent, likewise had little success and received only 3,479 votes.
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Government Filed a Case
After the government filed a case against former prime minister Imran Khan under the Anti-Terrorism Act for threatening an additional sessions judge and senior police officers of the Islamabad police at a rally in Islamabad’s F-9 Park on Saturday night, there was growing tension between the opposition party and the government prior to the PTI’s most recent victory in Karachi.
The victory gave the PTI more confidence to show its strength in the face of rumours that Mr. Khan could be arrested. The party issued a clear warning that any attempt to imprison the former prime minister would be met with a fierce backlash from its members.
“The NA-245 outcome demonstrates that Imran Khan has the support of the Pakistani people.” Ali Zaidi, a former federal minister and the president of the party’s Sindh chapter, tweeted an image of the FIR filed against Imran Khan a few hours before the official result of the by-election was declared. “If the imported government makes any foolish move to arrest Imran Khan, I fear the people of Pakistan would block the entire country,” he wrote.
