GUJRAT: Deputy Commissioner (district monitoring officer) Tauseef Dilshad Kathana has imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on a PTI-backed union council chairman as well as issued a warning to four candidates belonging to the PML-Q and the TLP (Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan) for committing violations of the code of conduct issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The candidates and UC chairmen have expressed their grave concern over what they said a harsh code of conduct and apprehended that even their opponents could display the prohibited publicity material just to get them penalised.

One of them said if participation of the LG representatives who were elected on a party basis, in the July 25 election campaign is prohibited, why the ECP did not bar the legislators from taking part in the LG’s election campaign back in 2016 and 2017.

The DMO also summoned a dozen candidates of various parties and local government elected representatives on the complaints of violations for hearing on Thursday. The fine of Rs50,000 was imposed on Raja Nadeem Nawaz, chairman UC Puran of Sara-i-Alamgir tehsil for not appearing before him on due date.

PML-Q’s Chaudhry Hussain Elahi (NA-68) and Shujaat Nawaz (PP-28) and TLP’s Mahmood Awani (NA-68) and Farrukh Nadeem (PP-28) have been issued warning as they were represented by their lawyers before the DMO.

The DMO office on Wednesday issued more show-cause notices to the violators; PML-N-backed UC chairmen Ashraf Rehania, Haroon Butt and deputy mayor of Gujrat Municipal Corporation Asif Raza Mehda are among those who were issued the notices.

An official source told Dawn that the notices were actually being issued on the secret reports being generated by the officials of intelligence agencies who send these to the Punjab government and then the reports were dispatched to the district administrations for necessary legal action.

Meanwhile, the Kunjah police registered a case against three unidentified armed men who were found displaying weapons at the joining of a former UC chairman, Safdar Mumtaz Sandhu, the PML-Q at Kot Mojdin in the presence of Chaudhry Moonis Elahi on Tuesday last. The case has been lodged on the report of ASI Muhammad Asif.

In Mandi Bahauddin district, the Malakwal police have booked the vice chairman of district council, Najamul Hassan Shah, and five chairmen of various union councils for committing violation of code of conduct. The case has been registered under section 188 of the PPC.

All the chairmen and the district vice chairmen belong to the PML-N and they have been canvassing for the independent contender.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2018