Former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim has held Prime Minister Imran Khan responsible for the defeat in Umarkot by-election, reported 24NewsHD DTV channel.

Addressing a protest demonstration in Umerkot on Friday, Arbab Ghulam Rahim said the prime minister does not pay heed after ordering them to contest the by-election. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-shQGAQTO64

“Who will listen to you in future,” he asked, adding “Who will contest election on your orders next time.”

Earlier, Arbab Ghulam Rahim had accepted defeat in PS-52 by-election in Umerkot, saying he will again contest from the same constituency in the 2023 general elections. Arbab Rahim had said if he had not participated in the by-polls he would have been dubbed as a runaway.

PPP candidate Syed Ameer Ali Shah won the election with a lead of around 25,000 votes, securing 55,904 votes against 30,921 of Arbab Rahim, who contested from the platform of Grand Democratic Alliance, supported by PTI, MQM and some nationalist parties.

Arbab Rahim said he knew that the PPP-led Sindh government would employ the official machinery for the rigging but he still took part in the process. "I didn't see a hope for a change through the election because the Election Commission of Pakistan's lower staff and the Sindh government's employees rig the polls." He claimed that stamped ballot papers were found in an area in Chorr on the polling day.