HYDERABAD, July 21: The president of the Pakistan People’s Party, Sindh, Nisar Khuhro, has alleged the government is preparing to rig the general election in its favour.

He added that massive reshuffling in the civil bureaucracy taking place in Sindh was aimed at rigging the elections in the favour of the government-backed candidates.

He was talking to newsmen here on Sunday at a dinner, hosted in his honour by Shagufta Jumani, general secretary, women wing, PPP, Sindh.

He demanded the formation of a national government, comprising the political parties, to supervize the election, adding ministers of the national government should not be allowed to contest the election.

Mr Khuhro said there was no substitute to Benazir Bhutto in the PPP and added that his party would not boycott the polls. The party would rather expose the rulers to the world like it did in the presidential referendum, he said.

He said the government was trying to block the way of those political parties which had roots among masses. He said names of voters were still being inserted in the electoral lists although the date of enrolment had expired.

The PPP leaders alleged that leaders of the Sindh Democratic Alliance had taken money in the referendum and used government vehicles but still had failed to bring people to the polling stations.

He said the government wanted its ministers to be elected.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Yasmin, demanded of the government to allocate women seats on the basis of proportional representation.

She said the PPP women wing had planned to hold conventions and meetings in the next month to mobilize masses in the province.

She admitted the performance of successive governments has always been dismal with regard to women issues, particularly the custom of Karo kari.

Dr Yasmin said that on the one hand the government claimed to have given 33 per cent representation to women while on the other the condition of graduation had been made compulsory for candidates.

MMA: President Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Allama Shah Ahmed Noorani has said that the MMA had prepared a memorandum to be presented to President Pervez Musharraf on Monday (today), rejecting any amendments in the Constitution, formation of the National Security Council (NSC), empowerment of the President to appoint governors and chief ministers, etc, reports our bureau.

The MMA chief said this while addressing a news conference at the Rukn-ul-Islam in Hirabad on Sunday after chairing a meeting of the provincial body of the JUP.

He said that the concentration of powers was not good for the people. He said that from 1973 to 1999, the Constitution had already been amended 14 times.