February 19, 2008	Tuesday	Safar 11, 1429

PESHAWAR, Feb 18: All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) has claimed that masses have rejected the so-called elections and vindicated the call given by the movement.

“Certainly security is one of the factors to keep voters away from the polling stations and low turn out. But our appeal for boycotting the elections has gone very well with the masses,” said Sirajul Haq, provincial chief of Jamaat-i-Islami, one of the component parties of APDM.

Activists of Jamaat-i-Islami set up protest camps at various points of the provincial capital and staged a rally in Hashtnagri. Sirajul Haq and former MNA Shabir Ahmad Khan led the rally. Besides, protest camps were also set up in all district headquarters of the NWFP.

Siraj said that people responded warmly to the APDM appeal and rejected what he described as fraud elections. He said that polls lost credibility as an overwhelming majority of the people boycotted the elections.

The fraud election had no credibility because turn out was very low, he said, adding that he visited many polling stations in Peshawar, Charsadda and Mohmand tribal region where turn out was poor.