KARACHI, July 21: People of Sindh have lost all hopes for free and fair elections as the provincial administration has arrested and kidnapped more LB candidates than it picked up the alleged extremists over the past two days. This was observed by members of the PPP Monitoring Committee Taj Haider, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Fehmida Mirza and others in a statement.

They deplored that “the silence of the Election Commission of Pakistan makes one to believe as if it has been held at gunpoint by the regime.”

They claimed that the Media Cell of the Bilawal House was flooded with complaints from the 11 districts where election was being held in the first phase and where, they alleged, pre-poll rigging and electoral fraud had broken all records.

“It appeared that the Sindh chief minister was heading a mafia, instead of any form of government, being patronized by garrisons and cantonments to hijack the whole election process with the ECP playing a role of a rubber stamp meant for attesting the regime’s legitimacy,” they further alleged.

The PPP leaders observed that the ECP had remained helpless and ineffective with regard to every complaint, from harassment of opponents, shifting of polling stations to inaccessible areas and farms of the ruling mafia and activities of the regime’s kidnapping squads to the large-scale transfer of police and other officials.

They pointed out that while 200 extremists had been arrested in the fresh crackdown, the regime and its kidnapping squads had picked up around 1,000 opposition candidates for nazim, naib nazim and councillor, including women, to keep them away from the election process.

They claimed that 13 candidates had been kidnapped in Tando Allahyar, five in UC Khahi of Sanghar district who include Noor Ahmed Rajput, and a woman candidate who was abducted from outside the office of the returning officer, Khipro. They had been taken to some unknown places and subjected to severe torture before being let off at deserted places.

The PPP leaders quoted reports from Tharparkar suggesting that the election commission officials at tehsil Diplo had refused to receive the nomination papers of Abdul Qayum Lund and Abdul Aziz Lund who wanted to contest as nazim and naib nazim of UC Bholari. The Awam Dost candidates for nazim and naib nazim of UC Jhirmirio, Khetlari and Aarokhi had also been kidnapped on Wednesday evening and left in desert area the next day, they charged.