KARACHI: Safety commission polls held amid opposition’s boycott
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, July 26: The opposition members in the City District Council on Wednesday boycotted the elections of the District Public Safety and Police Complaints Commission, accusing the treasury benches of bypassing the relevant rules of the election procedures. The council presided over by Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil, elected Abdul Jalil, Taver Ali Rafat and Mussarat Jabeen as its members for the Public Safety Commission.
Earlier, when the house met, opposition leader Saeed Ghani stood up and sought the permission of the presiding officer about the relevant rules of conducting the elections, arguing that under the present Police Order, each member has the right to cast only one vote and these elections were being held on the basis of “two votes each member which will be cast separately for male and female candidates (one for each candidate) which is in violation of the relevant rules.”
Maintaining that he had already brought the matter to the notice of the chief secretary and other responsible authorities, the opposition leader called upon the chair to postpone the election till the final verdict of these authorities were received.
Opposition leaders Rafique Ahmed, Shamim Mumtaz, Nasim Khan and Mir Ismail Brohi also termed the present method of elections a violation of section 38 (c) of the Police Order 2002 and said it clearly states: “the remaining one third members, out of whom one shall be woman, shall be elected by the Zila council from amongst its members on the basis of each member casting in favor of any contesting candidate through secret ballot.”
They stressed the presiding officer to change the method of election and conduct them according to the procedure as laid down in the Police Order.
But the chair ruled out their objections, saying that under the Sindh Local Government Ordiance (SLGO), there was no any specific method of electing members for the commission by the district council members.
In this regard, she pointed out that the clause 39 (K) of the SLGO, 2001, clearly states that the council will only elect its three members for the purpose of representation in the commission, adding “it does not prescribe any specific method of election, nor any rules have been framed so far.”
The submissions of the chair did not convince the opposition and they boycotted the session. Treasury leader Asif Siddiqui and Masood Mehmood tried to persuade the opposition to end their boycott, but they refused.
Later, at a press conference opposition leaders Saeed Ghani, Rafique Ahmed, and others accused the treasury benches of ‘frequently violating the rules’ while conducting the business of the house. Describing the election as illegal, they said they would challenge the same in a court of law. Earlier, the house adopted a unanimous resolution condoling the deaths of Allama Hasan Turabi and Abdul Sattar Gabol.
