HYDERABAD, Aug 29: People’s Party Parliamentarian MPA Zahid Bhurgari has demanded re-election of local bodies in Sindh under the supervision of the Supreme Court. He was speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Monday.

Party leaders Mir Fateh Talpur, Amanullah Siyal, Qazi Pasha, Sanam Talpur, and Aftab Khanzado were present on the occasion.

The leaders said the government was directly involved in massive rigging in the local body elections held on August 18 and 25 and demanded that re-elections be held only after suspending the Sindh government.

Mr Bhurgari said rigging in the elections in the country had broken all previous records.

He said in Sindh, particularly in Hyderabad, the government representatives and police were involved in rigging.

He said armed terrorists with the help of police took over polling stations and government functionaries.

He said presiding officers were found filling ballot boxes with bogus votes.

He alleged the Awam Dost Panel candidates were tortured by activists of the government-backed parties and police.

Women were completely barred from casting their votes, he said.

The MPA said the district police officer and election authorities had been informed on telephone about rigging but they turned a deaf ear to the complaints and did not take any action against anyone.

He said the government was still busy in changing results of the elections though polls had already got over.

He said the entire province, especially Hyderabad, had been converted into a no-go area for the opposition leaders and workers.

Mr Bhurgari said government candidates were raiding houses of the ADP candidates to harass them.

He alleged that police had conducted a raid last night under supervision of Badar Channo, the OSD to Sindh chief minister, Rana Rashid of the MQM, and the PML youth wing leader, Khan Mehmood Khan, in the union council 16 of city taluka and arrested 350 workers of the PPP.

The PPP leader said in the second phase of elections, the ADP candidates from UC-16 of Manthar were severely tortured by political “terrorists” on the patronage of police.

He said all polling stations were forcibly occupied and presiding officers were held hostages at gun point.

He said Manthar Jatoi, his father; uncle and relatives were languishing in lock-up of the Pinyari police station.

Mr Bhurgari said the SHO of the Pinyari police station, in the presence of Badar Channo, had asked Manthar Jatoi to withdraw from re-elections, scheduled to be held later, so that his relatives could be released.

He said the irony was that the government-backed naib nazim candidate, Yasin Qureshi, was released by police, who had been arrested with 70 terrorists and 15 Kalashnikovs from the Gohar house, Noorani Basti.