HYDERABAD: The Sindh government is buying loyalties of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) in Sukkur and Larkana divisions where the first phase of the local government elections process is under way.

Sindh Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F general secretary Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro made this claim at a press conference held in Pathan Goth here on Tuesday. “I can prove this if asked,” he said.

Maulana Soomro suggested that the Rangers personnel performing security duty at each polling stations should also sign the results, besides the presiding officers and polling agents, to verify fairness.

Earlier, he chaired a meeting of the Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah chapters of his party to finalise its candidates.

Accompanied by Maulana Taj Mohammad Nahiyoon and Azam Jehangiri, Maulana Soomro said that the JUI-F would field 1,295 candidates against a total of 2,760 seats in Sukkur and Larkana divisions.

“We will form alliance with other parties. Our alliance with the PPP is only for three tehsils of one district. Similarly, we will be working with other parties and groups on around 5,000 seats of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah divisions,” he said.

He identified such groups and constituencies as those led by former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza (Badin), former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim (Umerkot and Tharparkar) and the Shirazi brothers (Thatta); and named one of the parties as the PML-F (Sanghar).

He, however, said that if seat adjustment with other parties and groups did not materialise, the JUI-F would field its candidates for all seats.

Mualana Soomro repeated his party’s demand that the local government elections be held under Rangers supervision.

He alleged that “DROs and ROs are sitting in the homes of ministers and feudal lords belonging to the PPP”.

He also claimed that 17 JUI-F-backed candidates — seven in Larkana, four in Jacobabad and three each Miro Khan and Sukkur — were kidnapped during the nomination process. “Gone are days of politics of the 90s. Now you can’t bend or buy anyone,” he remarked.

Maulana Soomro alleged that the PPP had a history of using force in polls. “Our party’s expanding voter-base is evident from the fact that [PPP co-chairman] Asif Ali Zardari himself desired to meet me for seat adjustment. Eleven rounds of talks between the two sides have been held so far and the PPP is eager to have an alliance with us in upper Sindh,” he said.

The JUI-F had done away with the past alliance as it could not compromise on [former Sindh-JUI-F general secretary] Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro’s blood.

“We have serious reservations over the investigation into his assassination,” he said, and warned that the JUI-F would decide its strategy on Nov 29 — the first death anniversary of Dr Soomro — if the case was not solved by then.

Seminaries issue

Maulana Rashid Soomro termed his party’s talks with government on the seminaries’ conduct issue “successful”, arguing that many things were sorted out and ban on certain seminaries’ registration was agreed to be lifted.

He said the JUI-F offered to help make seminaries respond if they did not cooperate with the government.

In reply to a question, the JUI-F chief said that 90 per cent of funding in seminaries was generated locally. He said that the government would provide a list of seminaries “on its hit list for any reason” to his party.

Turning to the PPP’s revised policy towards Centre, Maulana Soomro said his party supported the Sindh government’s stand vis-a-vis the province’s natural resources as defined by Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

“If Sindh and other provinces are not given their due rights in the shape of natural resources, then all communication links with Punjab will be blocked,” said Maulana Soomro.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2015

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