January 30, 2008	Wednesday	Muharram 20, 1429

KARACHI, Jan 29: The Pakistan People’s Party has called for the deployment of army troops at all the polling stations in Sindh due to the deteriorating law and order situation in the province.

This was stated by the provincial secretary-general of the PPP, Nafees Siddiqui, at a news conference during which he accused the authorities of changing the locations of polling stations far away from the community which was registered there and also resorting to transfers and postings contrary to the orders of the chief election commissioner.

The PPP leader specifically mentioned NA-253 and PS-126 where polling stations concerned had been reportedly changed although they were supposed to be according to the scheme of the 2002 elections.

He said the matter was brought to the knowledge of the concerned Returning Officer who referred it to DRO who investigated the matter and filed his report on Jan 16 but the higher authorities instead of taking any action appointed another RO on Jan 26, allegedly to get things done in their own way.

Mr Siddiqui said that the PPP would take the matter to court because these transfers and postings were illegal. Mr Siddiqui also referred to the deplorable treatment meted out to PPP activists in a lock up in Diplo.

He also declared that the PPP remained committed to the supremacy of the constitution, independence of the judiciary and the rule of law and supports the lawyers’ movement and deplored the continuing internment of the deposed chief justice of Pakistan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and other lawyers.

He said that there might be differences in our approach but the objectives remained the same.