SUKKUR: Pakistan Teh­re­­ek-i-Insaf (PTI) Sindh president Haleem Adil She­i­kh has said that Pakistan Peoples Party’s government in Sindh is brazenly trying to influence by-election for NA-205 (Ghotki) and not only the party leadership but its cabinet too have taken the field against independent candidate Sardar Ahmed Ali Mahar.

Mr Sheikh said at a press conference in Mirpur Mathelo town of Ghotki district on Sunday that the PPP ministers had tendered resignations just to befool people.

Flanked by PTI’s MNA Jay Parkash Ukrani, MPAs Raja Azhar and Dua Bhutto and other leaders, he said the rally led by ‘Bilawal Zardari’ proved that this election was not only between the PPP and Sardar Ali Ahmed Mahar, who was supported by PTI, but also between the government of Sindh and him.

He said that PPP leaders had been present for many days in Sukkur where they had set up their election camp. When the prime minister visited Ghotki he was served a show-cause notice but no notice was being taken of the Sindh chief minister who was at the camp with police of nine districts to influence by-polls, he said.

He said that PPP’s candidate Sardar Mohammad Bux Mahar enjoyed police security, government vehicles and protocol and deputy commissioner of Ghotki was acting like a personal servant of the ruling party.

He said that forest department was the most corrupt department, which had illegally allotted 78,000 acres of forestland to PPP leaders and workers. “We will retrieve the occupied forest land from PPP cadres,” he said.

Mr Sheikh said that Nasir Shah had already given a statement on the floor of Sindh Assembly that 78,000 acres of forest land had been allotted illegally. Now, the government should take action on the basis of this confession, he said.

He said that his party feared riots during the by-polls as the ruling party people were reportedly amassing weapons for the purpose. One of our voters, Ali Murad Mahar, had received threats that he and his petrol pump would be no more after July 23, he said, adding that their Murad would be there but the government of Murad Ali Shah would be a goner.

He said that even though Bilawal visited Fata the PPP could not win even a single seat in the area. The Fata people rejected the PPP and preferred peace and stability, he said.

He said that PPP Sindh president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro was not happy with the presence of army inside polling stations and asked if Mr Khuhro really wanted to rig polls by stuffing bogus ballots into boxes. Jam Saifullah Dharejo had committed record corruption in irrigation department and the party would ensure recovery of all looted money, he said.

PTI MNA Jay Parkash said that the PPP had harassed Hindu community of Ghotki as the minority community had already announced supporting Sardar Ahmed Ali Mahar. “We will ensure safety of every voter so that they can cast their vote as per their free will,” he said.

He said that PPP government had destroyed the entire province during last 11 years. Sindh was rich in oil resources but no one knew where its royalty went. There was massive corruption in this sector while roads in the areas from where oil and gas were extracted remained potholed, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2019