KARACHI: Demanding a shakeup of the bureaucracy in Sindh on the pattern of Punjab, a 10-party alliance led by the PML-Functional said on Tuesday that fair, free and transparent elections were not expected in Sindh under the present caretaker set-up because the government had failed to implement the Supreme Court’s decision to replace the administration installed by the PPP government.

The demand was made at a press conference addressed after an 11-hour meeting at the PML-F secretariat on Tuesday by the alliance’s leaders, including Syed Ghaus Ali Shah, Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro, Jam Madad Ali, Masroor Jatoi and Qari Mohammad Usman.

The meeting decided with consensus to field 23 candidates in National Assembly constituencies and 51 for Sindh Assembly for a one-to-one contest with the PPP and its allies in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Tharparkar divisions. Candidates for Larkana, Sukkur and Karachi divisions will be selected on Wednesday.

The alliance’s spokesman, Sindh PML-F secretary general Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh, said he had held a brief meeting with Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim and drawn his attention towards the biased administrative machinery.

Now the alliance had decided to seek time for another meeting with its delegation in this regard, he said.

Mr Shaikh alleged that nominees of PPP’s candidates were among the 9,000 policemen being recruited.

He demanded appointment of a neutral and non-political governor of Sindh.

Sindh PML-N chief Ghaus Ali Shah said that although he was a former chief minister and defence minister, he did not have police security, while Syed Qaim Ali Shah who was contesting from the same constituency was being provided protocol of chief minister.

He also accused the Election Commission of Pakistan of having a biased attitude towards parties contesting against the PPP and its allies.

JI leader Asadullah Bhutto said the ECP had failed to provide electoral lists and no-go areas had not been opened up despite the apex court’s directives.

He demanded deployment of troops at every polling station.

JUI-F leader Khalid Soomro alleged that the government had been providing presidential protocol to PPP leader Faryal Talpur and government machinery was being used for the party’s electioneering.

Some of the prominent candidates to be fielded by the anti-PPP alliance for the National Assembly are: NA 214 Nawabshah, Maulvi Abdul Razzaq Pariyar of the PML-F; NA 219 Hyderabad, Maulana Shaukat Ali of JI; NA 220 Hyderabad, Sahibzada Abul Khair Zubair of JUP; NA 222 Hyderabad, Pir Sajjad Jan Sirhindi of PML-F; NA 223 Hyderabad, Dr Rahila Magsi of PML-N; NA 225 Badin, Bibi Yasmin Shah of PML-F; NA 231 Dadu, Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah of SUP; NA 233 Dadu, Liaquat Ali Jatoi of PML-N; NA 237 Thatta, Marvi Memon of PML-N; NA 238 Thatta, Mufti Nazeer Khan; NA 235, Pir Sadruddin Shah Rashdi; and NA 236, Imamuddin Shauqeen of PML-F.

The candidates for the provincial assembly include Syed Zain Shah of SUP from Nawabshah; Shah Mohammad Shah of SUP, Mohammad Ali Shah Jamote of PML-F, Ayaz Latif Palijo of QAT, Humayoon Khan Mandokhail of JUI-F, Dr Saifur Rehman of JI and Dr Irfan Gul Magsi of PML-N from Hyderabad; Papoo Shah (Ali Bux Shah) of PML-F, Mir Mohammad Panhyar of SUP, Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah of SUP, Ismail Rahu of PML-N, Mir Aejaz Talpur of PML-N, Dr Bande Ali Leghari of PML-N, Liaquat Ali Jatoi of PML-N, Sadaqat Ali Jatoi of PML-N, Faqir Jadem Mangrio of PML-F, Qasim Siraj Soomro of PML-F, Saeed Nizamani of PML-F, Veryam Faqir of PML-N, Khuda Bux Rajar of PML-F, Jam Madad Ali of PML-F, Mohammad Bux Khaskheli of PML-F, Pir Rehman Jilani of PML-F, Jam Gohram Khan of PML-F and Anwar Soomro of QAT.