KARACHI: PTI MPA Bilal Ghaffar got injured after clashes between two groups in the NA 237 constituency, Malir Ghazi Goth area. He was shifted to the hospital.

“I was with Bilal Ghaffarm now we are taking him to the hospital. He has suffered head and nose injuries. We are heading to the police station from here to register a first information report (FIR),” PTI leader Ali Zaidi told Aaj News.

The former ruling party has alleged that the PPP workers had attacked their MPA and party leaders. The Sindh ruling party has denied such allegations, saying that their workers were “peaceful”.

The police have claimed that the polling was being done peacefully, adding that more than 7,500 security personnel were performing duties in both polling stations.

Zaidi alleged that PPP MPA Saleem Baloch pistol-whipped Ghaffar, adding that later other “thugs” of PPP hit him.

“We had gone there to have a conversation in a peaceful manner and we had no fight with them,” he said, adding that he would share the next step later.

To a query over the process of the election, he said that it was fine till the morning but the PPP has turned to thuggery as they fear defeat in the by-election. He accused the Sindh-ruling party of bringing workers to cast fake votes. He demanded more deployment of Rangers and police at polling stations.

He was not satisfied with the electoral process and law enforcement agencies.

Asad Umar, the former planning minister, alleged that Ghaffar was attacked by the thugs of the PPP. “Clear signs of large-scale rigging by PPP are visible in NA 237 Malir in Karachi,” he said in a tweet.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry strongly condemned the incident. “The PPP is a fascist party and just as the brave people of Karachi ended the terrorism of MQM, they will also teach a lesson to the thuggery of the PPP,” he said in a tweet.

Fawad told reporters in Nankana that PTI chief Imran, who is contesting elections on seven constituencies, would clinch the polls and it would be the “last election of PPP”. He reiterated PTI’s words that “it was a referundum” that the people want early elections.

Later, Zaidi reached the Malir Police Station.

The police said that workers of both parties were present there and they got into an argument which lead to fighting. But the situation was “under control” after which the polling process was stopped for half an hour.

They added that the polling was again started after dispersing workers from both parties.

The administration has increased the deployment of police in Ghazi Goth.