KARACHI, July 10: The leader of the opposition in Senate, Mr Raza Rabbani, who is also Deputy Secretary General of the PPP, has deplored that not a single transfer/posting order issued by the Sindh government in violation of the local bodies’ election rules had so far been withdrawn despite directives from the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Talking to PPP workers at the Bilawal House here on Sunday, Mr Rabbani said that hundreds of police personnel — from constable to DIG — had been transferred in Sindh after the announcement of the election schedule and more transfers were being done in brazen violation of the ECP directives.
“The helplessness that the ECP is displaying today gives further fillip to the countrywide cries that the government is out to stage pseudo elections,” he added.
Senator Rabbani said that running an election campaign and performing the official functions could easily be differentiated as announcement of development schemes and writing off ADB loans up to Rs100,000 were part of pre-poll rigging which could not be tolerated.
He asserted that the ECP must take notice of the “election campaigns being run by the prime minister, chief minister and ministers of Sindh to promote their candidates in the local bodies.” General Musharraf, he alleged, had also announced development schemes in Murree to support his candidates there.
The PPP senator recalled that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim had addressed a public meting along with the man who would be a ruling party candidate for the post of nazim of Thatta district. While the report along with pictures/films had already appeared in newspapers and TV channels, the ECP remained unmoved against the violation of the prescribed election rules, he wondered.—PPI
