LARKANA, July 17: Leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians have accused the Sindh government of promoting tribal lords and fiefdoms by creating new districts in the province.

Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, leader of the opposition in Sindh Assembly, MNAs Anwar Bhutto, Khalid Iqbal Memon, Hibullah Bughio, MPAs Munwar Ali Abbasi, Aziz Jatoi, Ayaz Soomro and Senator Safdar Abbasi alleged that force was used to stop PPP legislators from attending a reception in Gaibidero village of Qamber district on Saturday night.

Accusing Larkana DPO Saeen Rakhiyo Mirani for supporting a particular group, they said that police intercepted their procession on the pretext that Sardar Khan Chandio had fitted rocket launchers and guns near Gaibidero.

Instead of providing security to the PPP legislators, the police protected the armed men saying that it was averting a clash. They said that transfers of police officers and secretaries by the Sindh government after the election schedule was in contravention of the code of conduct announced by the Election Commission.

The rankers were posted at top and key posts which the PPP parliamentarians presumed would definitely obey the illegal orders of the Sindh government only to save their postings. Terming this sort of arrangement as ‘pre-election rigging’, they said that people were being harassed and humiliated.

They said that under the prevailing condition we could not expect free, fair and transparent polls.

They questioned the credibility of the Election Commission under obtaining conditions and demanded that the EC should cancel all transfers and posting made after the election schedule was announced to restore its credibility.

They said that donor agencies would also be briefed about what they called ‘illegal deeds’ of government where President General Musharraf had himself become a party.

Referring to recent meeting of President Musharraf, they said that now the PPP would be targeted where police would work for the PML in the local body polls.

Senator Abbasi said that ‘why this proxy war’ and added when every political party had jumped into fray why not the election commission was announcing to hold it on party basis instead of insisting on non-party basis.

They said that despite all odds, the PPP would not leave ground vacant for its opponents in the election.

Gaibi Khan Chandio, president of PPP Qambar, Nazeer Ahmed Bughio, ex-naib nazim Larkana district and local PPP leaders were also present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, talking to Dawn in Dhamraho village on Saturday, Mr Khuhro said the PPP had no objection if the Sindh chief minister was campaigning for PML candidates in his capacity as the provincial president of the Muslim League.

But, Mr Khuhro said, the question was that who had allowed him to use Sindh government’s helicopter and other resources during that campaign.