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NAWABSHAH, Aug 22: Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said that the law and order situation remained peaceful in the first phase of local body elections and no casualty was reported from any part of the province.
He was speaking at an open kutchehry at the Taluka Municipal Office Daur on Monday.
He said the army, Rangers and police would be deployed and all arrangements to hold the second phase of local body polls had been completed.
Dr Arbab said Gen Pervez Musharraf introduced the local government system and provided funds to elected representatives but they failed to utilize them effectively.
He said President Musharraf fulfilled all his promises and held general elections and now a fully democratic government was working smoothly.
He said economy was being strengthened and country had been freed from IMF loans.
Mr Arbab said he had already stated that 2005 was the year of local body polls and not general elections.
He said Asif Zardari fooled the people that he would come into power after being released from the jail but he went abroad and was not willing to return back.
He said there was no water shortage in Sindh but farmers were crying and holding protest demonstrations against rampant corruption in the irrigation department.
He said officials of the irrigation department were running hourly meters of bribe to supply water. Dr Arbab Rahim suspended executive engineer of the Nusrat irrigation division, Saeed Jagirani, on public complaints.
The chief minister visited UC Nawabshah-3.
RANGERS: The Nawabshah district has been declared as most sensitive in the second phase of local body elections.
This was disclosed by Col Mohammad Zameer Khan, commandant Indus Rangers, while briefing reporters about election preparations at the Rangers headquarters on Monday.
He said fool-proof security arrangements were being made to hold free, fair, peaceful and transparent local body elections in the second phase on August 25.
He said 2,500 Rangers personnel had been deployed in four talukas of the district.
He said no one would be allowed to break law and anyone found guilty would be punished according to law. He said no adviser, MPA, MNA or any influential person would be allowed to enter polling stations or using government machinery.
