July 14, 2006	Friday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 17, 1427

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MUZAFFARABAD, July 13: At least 70 supporters of a newly-elected member of the AJK Legislative Assembly blocked a main road in the capital on Thursday in protest against what they called the “hostilities” of their “disgruntled” electoral rivals.

Eyewitnesses said police used batons to disperse the protesters of PML’s Ch. Mohammad Rasheed who was declared winner from LA-29, Muzaffarabad VI. Five protesters were injured in the police charge.

The police also arrested 12 people on charges of rioting and attacking government servants.

The protesters alleged that the supporters of an independent candidate attacked and injured them in Langarpura village on Tuesday, but the police did not take any action despite a complaint lodged by them in writing.

Meanwhile, Ch. Rasheed told Dawn that their rivals could not digest his victory.

“They are constantly threatening my supporters and harming them. They are stopping vehicles to check whether any Chaudhrys are on board. If they find any, they start thrashing him,” he alleged, adding that since the announcement of unofficial results on Tuesday night, at least 15 of his supporters, including a woman, had been roughed up.

“But the police and administration have turned a blind eye to these excesses,” he said.

A source in police said the situation in the constituency was tense with rival political groups launching attacks each other.

PML convener and former AJK prime minister Barrister Sultan Mahmood also condemned the situation.

“The government should provide protection to our supporters otherwise the law and order situation can worsen,” he said.

Ch. Rasheed is the first Gojar to have won election from the mentioned constituency during the last three decades. Prior to him, Ch. Raj Mohammad was the only Gojar who had won this seat in 1975 on the ticket of Jammu Kashmir Liberation League. Even though the constituency has Gojars in majority, it has a history of electing Mughals and Awans turn by turn.