MULTAN: District Monitoring Officer (DMO) Muddasir Riaz Malik sent on Monday the case of the PML-N candidate for NA-157 Malik Abdul Ghaffar Dogar to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for violating the election code of conduct.

DMO Mr Malik summoned Mr Dogar and PML-N District president Bilal Butt for organising the public gathering of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday at Kayanpur near southern bypass against the instruction of the district administration.

The district government had allowed gathering at Qila Kohna Qasim Bagh.

Mr Dogar stated that the public gathering was organised by Mr Butt, while “I along 18 other PML-N candidates merely participated in the public gathering”.

He stated that he like other candidates was informed by the district PML-N president about the public gathering. The DMO imposed a Rs40,000 fine on Mr Butt and sent the reference against Mr Dogar to the ECP under section 234(1) of the act.

PPP’s Ali Musa Gilani (son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI’s) Zain Qureshi (son of PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi) are also contesting the elections from the seat.

Rai Mansab Ali Khan, who was a PML-N MPA from PP-202 (now PP-219), is now contesting as a PPP candidate. Another previous PML-N MPA from PP-201 (now PP-218) Mazhar Abbas Raan is a PTI ticket holder. Mr Dogar found Rana Iqbal Siraj and Malik Zaffar Raan as PML-N PA candidates under his NA constituency.

In the 2013 election, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Ali Musa Gilani were PTI and PPP candidates for the constituency respectively; Mr Dogar won the election as the PML-N candidate.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2018