KARACHI, Aug 1: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement coordination committee on Monday reviewed its mass contact campaign for the local body elections and the weeklong cleanliness campaign in the city. The meeting, chaired by deputy convenor Dr Farooq Sattar, was attended among others by Anwar Alam, Ismail Qureshi, Wasim Aftab and federal and provincial ministers and advisers.

The measures being taken for peaceful and transparent local body elections and compliance of the code of conduct issued by the Election Commission were reviewed at the meeting besides measures to provide guidance to voters in the exercise of their right to franchise. The meting observed that recovery of huge quantity of rubbish raised question marks about the performance of the previous city district government. The coordination committee was confident that in the coming local body elections Haq Parast candidates would triumph.

Meanwhile, addressing the meetings of general workers in Shah Faisal Colony, Malir and New Karachi sectors, in charge coordination committee Anwar Alam asked party cadre to maintain peace despite provocations. He alleged that anti-MQM forces were actively conspiring against the party and were allegedly trying to sabotage the elections by trying to vitiate the political climate.

MQM parliamentarians in their statement alleged that after seeing the massive public response to party meetings, leadership of Jamaat-i-Islami, its parliamentarians and former city nazim Niamatullah Khan were allegedly trying to make the city their hostage through use of force and politics of intimidation and targeting political opponents.

They pointed out that an example of such politics was witnessed two days earlier when Jamaat-i-Islami activists allegedly fired upon Pakhtoonkhwa Awami Milli Party’s activists in Peerabad. A spokesman of Jamiat-Ulema-Islam also accused the JI for the incident.

They alleged that the JI was following double standards, which was evident from the fact that on the one hand it had launched a campaign against retention of military post by President Musharraf while on the other it was demanding holding of elections under military supervision. They alleged that because of JI’s policies Pakistan and Islam had been maligned the world over.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui dispelled concerns about ability of police and the paramilitary forces to maintain law and order for ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections.