November 22, 2007	Thursday	Ziqa’ad 11, 1428

RAWALPINDI, Nov 21: The opposition’s apprehension about free and fair election under emergency and with local government system is being vindicated as leadership of Pakistan Muslim League (PML) continues using state machinery for the upcoming polls.

Though the Punjab Assembly has been dissolved on October 19, former provincial minister for law and local government Basharat Raja and his younger brother Raja Nasir who has also served as advisor to the Punjab Chief Minister are still enjoying their political influence in using the machinery of Potohar Town municipal administration.

The Public Relations section of the Potohar Town is still issuing statements of the former provincial minister and his brother who is also President PML Rawalpindi district calling upon the people to avoid participation in the public gathering of other political parties.

Town Nazim Potohar Town Hamid Nawaz Raja who is cousin of Mr Basharat is unlikely to take notice of the misuse of his office by his relatives while the office of City Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas situated near the Potohar Town is silent due to party affiliation.

Similarly, the town municipal administration (TMA) Taxila headed by Nazim Mohammed Siddique brother of former federal minister for labour, manpower and overseas Pakistanis is also feeding statements of the former minister to media organizations by using the resources of the TMA.

The Rawal Town TMA situated in the heart of the city continues to recall the uplift works undertaken by former railway minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed though his only project of Leh Expressway is yet to be kicked off.

Using the administrative machinery, the former federal and provincial ministers also continue their campaign against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) by stating that the party had deprived the people of rooti (bread), kaprha (cloth) and makan (home) thus urging the people to vote and support PML in the upcoming elections.

After the dissolution of the National Assembly on November 15 and Punjab Assembly on November 19, the former federal and provincial ministers representing Rawalpindi can be seen sitting in the offices of the towns headed by their respective relatives.

The local leaders of the PPP have raised objections over the use of state machinery by the former ministers and have criticised the towns’ administration for utilising public money on the election campaign of the PML.

PPP leader Amir Fida Paracha and Atif Kiyani complained that the offices of TMAs were misused and exploited by leaders of the PML and were not concentrating on the civic problems faced by the people.

“Why are they (PML leaders) using public money on their election campaign and maligning the image of other political parties? Their record uplift schemes exist only in papers and not on ground,” Mr Paracha told this scribe. He said that the misuse of state machinery by PML leaders would be brought to the notice of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).