KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Pak Sarzameen Party traded allegations against each other on Sunday and questioned the role of the Election Commission of Pakistan in ensuring free, fair and transparent elections in Karachi.

The MQM-P sent a letter to the ECP, alleging that the caretaker Sindh government through police was “sabotaging” its election campaign.

And the PSP alleged that the all those workers of the MQM-P employed in civic bodies were being made polling staff so that they could rig the election in favour of their party.

PSP says employees of civic bodies posted as polling staff to carry out large-scale rigging

Speaking at a press conference at a park adjacent to its temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad, senior MQM-P leader Kanwar Naveed Jameel said that the party was facing a great deal of hardship in running its election campaign in Karachi as its workers were not only being arrested by police but also manhandled by its political opponents.

He said the MQM-P was facing multiple problems because of the police and rival PSP.

He alleged that PSP workers were tearing up MQM’s flags, torturing workers and hindering the MQM’s election campaign. He said the rival workers had attacked an election office on Saturday night, but the local administration took no action against them.

However, he claimed that a number of workers who were “forced to join the PSP” returned to the MQM.

Answering a question, senior leader Amir Khan said the MQM-P was not being allowed to run its election campaign smoothly. “We are used to this. We are not afraid of the circumstances and would never boycott [the polls]. We will win all seats.”

Meanwhile,alleging that the Sindh government was sabotaging its election campaign, the MQM-P in its letter to the ECP said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and PPP had been given a free hand to install their big banners and posters at whatever place they liked in violation of the ECP’s rules and regulations.

It also pointed out that PTI candidate Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain, who is an anchorperson at a local TV channel, was running his election campaign on his channel.

The party demanded that all political parties be advised to run their election campaign in accordance with the rules and procedures and the MQM-P be given its due right.

PSP wants apolitical polling staff

Speaking at a press conference, Karachi’s deputy mayor Arshad Vohra, who is a PSP candidate from a NA-254, said that the MQM-P had planned to grab “sensitive polling material before it reaches polling stations”.

He said the MQM-P workers employed in Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Karachi Development Authority, district municipal corporations and Karachi Water and Sewerage Board were being made polling staff. “This is aimed at carrying out large-scale rigging in the election,” he said.

Dr Vohra said that the ECP was not listening to PSP grievances and it appeared that the new polling scheme was introduced only to reimpose the previous rulers.

He said the PSP demanded that the polling staff of Karachi and Sindh must be impartial and apolitical. “If the Election Commission is itself not working on a plan to rig the elections, it must bring the polling staff for Sindh from any other province,” he said.

He said if the ECP ignored the PSP’s legitimate concerns then it would only mean that the ECP did not want to hold free and transparent polls.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2018