DADU: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Liaquat Ali Jatoi and several PTI candidates and leaders from Dadu and Sakrand on Thursday alleged that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was using government machinery in its election campaign in violation of the code of conduct prescribed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

They were speaking at a press conference at the residence of Liaquat Jatoi in Betto Jatoi village where a number of village elders, most of them affiliated with PPP, announced their decision to join PTI.

Former MPA and forest minister Ghulam Rasool Unnar, who parted ways with the anti-PPP Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) a day earlier, was also present along with many of his like-minded community members and supporters. PTI candidate for NA-235 Karim Ali Jatoi, who is a former district nazim, and candidate for PS-84 Mehar Sadaqat Ali Jatoi, who is a former senator, also spoke at the press conference and welcomed 11 pro-PPP village heads to the PTI fold.

Liaquat Jatoi said that the “inept” former chief minister and all his associates facing cases of massive corruption were again contesting election although PPP’s vote bank had drastically shrunk across Sindh and other provinces. He said PTI would definitely sweep the election and form its governments at the Centre and all provinces.

He alleged that former PPP ministers and other lawmakers were freely using the government machinery while their handpicked officials were still holding various posts. The ECP should take notice of it, he said.

He claimed that taluka municipalities’ funds were being pumped into PPP’s election campaign in Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Johi, Dadu, Sehwan and other constituencies.

Karim Jatoi alleged that PPP candidates were proposing presiding officers of their choice in Dadu district.

PTI’s PS-85 Dadu candidate Sardar Ashiq Ali Zounr alleged that SHOs and revenue officials of this district were acting on the directives of local PPP leaders while officials of education, health and local government departments were actively participating in PPP’s election campaign.

The newcomers, belonging to Mehar taluka, said that they always supported PPP but the party disappointed them with its poor performance over the past decade.

The village heads — Soojhro Meerwani, Raees Hazar Khan Lashari, Darya Khan Lashari, Mehar Khan Sohag, Nazar Khan Sohag, Barkat Chandio, Rabnawaz Jatoi, Islam Jatoi, Khalid Jatoi, Loung Tunio and Raees Wahid Bakhsh Tunio — told the PTI leaders that all voters of their villages would support PTI in the upcoming elections.

NAWABSHAH: Mr Unnar, the GDA candidate for PS-39 Sakrand, made the announcement about his dissociation with GDA and affiliation with PTI at his residence in the Khadar area of Nawabshah where Mr Jatoi and PTI candidate for NA-214 Shaheed Benazirabad Gul Mohammed Rind welcomed him to the party fold. He told PTI leaders, activists and supporters as well as local reporters that he was no more a GDA candidate for NA-214 and thanked PTI chief Imran Khan for honouring him with the allotment of a party ticket for PS-39 Sakrand.

Mr Jatoi said Imran Khan would visit Nawabshah soon as part of the party’s election campaign.

SUKKUR: Former Senate chairman Muhammadmian Soomro, the PTI candidate for NA-196 Jacobabad, on Thursday led a rally organised by the party’s women wing in Jacobabad city.

It set off from a private school and passed through various streets of the city and culminated outside the local press club. The participants kept raising slogans of ‘Save Jacobabad’, ‘Save Sindh’ and ‘ Tabdeeli aa gai hay’.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2018