LARKANA: A division bench of the Sindh High Court, Larkana circuit, on Tuesday issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Sindh election commissioner and other respondents for Sept 29 on a constitutional petition filed by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) leader Maulana Nasir Mehmood Soomro, who is contesting the PS-11 Shikarpur-I by-election against his Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) rival Imtiaz Shaikh.
Maulana Soomro, through his counsel Advocate Athar Abbas Solangi, has in his petition objected to the transfers and postings made in the district after announcement of the election schedule, arguing that they were in contravention of the ECP code of conduct and the Article 220 of the Constitution read with Section 5 of the Representation of People’s Act, 1976.
He cited the example of transfer/posting of district population officer (Shikrpur) Javed Ahmed Panhwar on Sept 16, DSP Saeed Ahmed Shaikh of Shikarpur city, DSP Mohammed Anwar Gopang and other officials including Dr Mohammed Hanif Soomro and Dr Naila Khoso.
He informed court that he was contesting election against the ruling party candidate and alleged that the recent transfers and postings were made with the intention of affecting the process and getting favourable results.
According to the petitioner, the purpose of this exercise is to rig the polls as DSP Gopang had helped a ruling party candidate in the 2013 general election 2013. Dr Naila Khoso, posted on Sept 15 as deputy district officer at the Shikarpur health office and given the charge of district coordinator of the National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Healthcare, was brought in to use hundreds of lady health visitors in for rigging, he alleged.
“These transfers and postings of officers are in sheer violation of the Article 218 (3) of the Constitution,” the petitioner said, and prayed to court to declare the moves, made after the issuance of the election schedule illegal, null and void. He also prayed to court to restrain the respondents from any transfer and posting within the district till the election process was over.
Published in Dawn September 28th, 2016
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