KARACHI, July 5: Pakistan People’s Party leader Nisar Ahmed Khuhro on Tuesday termed the All Parties Conference held by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement a publicity ploy. In a press statement, the PPP leader said, “When local government elections are being held on non-party basis, how the political parties could formulate code of conduct for the polls?”

He said that it was strange that ‘the ethnic party’ did not think of such code of conduct, when 13 people were killed during bye-elections in Karachi. However, he said, the same party had started talking about peace and got enforced Section 144 to check the display of legal arms. He said the PPP had always demanded to declare the city arms-free, but those holding large chunks of illegal arms did not hear the demand ‘for obvious reasons’.

Nisar Khuhro pointed out that the governor was ought to be non-partisan but in Sindh the governor distributed posts of nazims and naib nazims among his “own party members and the allies dummy politicians, who have grabbed the identification of PML”.

The leader of the opposition in Sindh Assembly alleged that all the chief ministers were aware of the expected announcement of the local government’s election schedule in advance, as such the issuance of bulk transfer orders of police and other departments proved mala fide intentions of the regime.

He urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to reverse the transfer orders issued in Sindh just a few hours before the schedule announcement or in back dates, “as even the common man knows mala fide intentions of the regime behind transfers”.

Meanwhile, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro condemned the non-release of Guddu Bihari despite the court orders and requested the superior courts to take suo motto notice of the contempt of court. —PPI