KARACHI, Nov 17: The leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has reiterated the demand for the establishment of an independent election commission for holding free and fair elections in the country.
The PPP leader was speaking at a press conference here on Friday, in his chamber soon after the assembly session was adjourned for Monday. MMA leader Maulana Omar Sadiq and PPP members Haji Munawwar Ali Abbasi, Rafique Engineer, Sassi Palejo, Ayaz Soomro, Shazia Marree Dr Sikander Mandro and others were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, he said that on the basis of the PPP candidate Taimoor Agha’s victory in the by-elections of PS-11 Shikarpur III the election commission could not be totally relied upon. The PPP could win the seat, vacated from the death of its member late Agha Tariq, because of the full cooperation of the people who were fed up of the government, the PPP leader pointed out.
Mr Khuhro, who led the PPP legislators to Shikarpur to act as polling agents and check ruling party candidate and his supporters from exerting undue influence over the election staff to get engineered results or stuffing ballot boxes, accused the former provincial minister, Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh and Deputy Speaker Rahila Tiwana of their failed attempts to rig the elections at different polling stations but the party workers foiled their conspiracy.
He recalled the manner in which the by-elections were rigged in the past that the election commission had to declare the results in three constituencies of the National Assembly null and void, which were held on the seats vacated by the MQM members. The elections on the seat of late Abdullah Murad and in the Kashmor by elections were no different from the by-elections on the NA seats.
Mr Khuhro said that it was also on the record that due to the rigging by the ruling party the MMA and PPP had to boycott the elections in different constituencies. He said that out of the 102 polling stations there were 68 in urban and 34 in the rural areas.
“We have concentrated all efforts in the urban polling stations by deputing MPAs , MNAs and party office-bearers on the polling stations who could not be overawed by pressure building tactics of the ruling party. They foiled the attempts to change the ballot boxes or stuffing them with fake ballots.
Mr Khuhro also referred to the worsening law and order situation by pointing out the killing of their party activist Mohammad Ali Advocate by indiscriminate firing in the premises of the Sessions Court in Larkana on Friday.
Earlier, he questioned the procedure adopted for passing the government bills on Wednesday in which the laid down procedure was bypassed and after boycott by the joint opposition, 10 bills were adopted within 15 minutes only.
