December 04, 2007	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 23, 1428

HYDERABAD, Dec 3: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and the only woman candidate for a general seat in the province, Ms Sassui Palijo, threatened on Monday to move the Sindh High Court if the assistant election commissioner of Thatta failed to provide her voters’ lists of PS-85 Mirpur Sakro by Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club, Ms Palijo accused the assistant election commissioner of was working under the instructions of Shirazis who she alleged were using government machinery to rig the general elections and were already engaged in pre-poll rigging.

She said that caretaker provincial minister Aijaz Shah Shirazi, District Nazim Shafqat Hussain Shah Shirazi and their sons and sons-in-law had unleashed a reign of terror in the entire district, particularly her constituency, to win all the seven seats of the district by hook or by crook.

Ms Palijo complained that after filing nomination papers she had been visiting the office of the assistant election commissioner almost on a daily basis to get the voters’ lists but he had refused to give them to her on the orders of Shirazis.

She said that she had complained to the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan and the provincial election commissioner time and again about the assistant election commissioner’s attitude but they did not move against him.

He had not even notified the list of polling stations because, according to her information, polling stations were being set up in the guest houses of landlords far away from populated areas, she said.

While polling stations for women were being set up in the rural areas and those of the rural areas were being established in the urban areas to deprive a large number of women of their right of franchise, she said.

She termed them ghost polling stations and said that the caretaker minister, district nazim, their sons, nephews and sons-in-law were harassing PPP leaders and voters under police protocol.

Ms Palijo claimed that the DCO’s office had become the hub of activities aimed at rigging the elections because the administration and police had been given the target to help win elections.

She said that her workers were being victimised and about three dozen of them had been arrested in her own constituency PS-85 Mirpur Sakro under an undeclared crackdown against PPP workers.

She feared bloodshed in general elections recalling that she had been fired upon in the previous elections and a loyal PPP worker Haji Qasim Samoon had been killed in firing.

She warned if she was not provided voters’ lists within next 24 hours, she would file a constitutional petition in the Sindh High Court and said that the names of a large number of genuine voters were missing in voters’ lists.

PPP leaders Syed Rizwan Shah, Yaqoob Palijo, Hashim Solangi and Mumtaz Jokhio, besides a large number of workers, were present at the news conference.