KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan may suffer a setback as the Election Commission of Pakistan on Wednesday asked the Sindh government to reverse the appointment of three government officers, said to be party loyalists, as administrators of Hyderabad and Karachi’s East and Korangi districts.

On Dec 19, the provincial government had appointed Muhammad Farooque, Syed Shakeel Ahmed and Muhammad Sharif as the administrators of Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and district municipal corporations of Korangi and East districts in line with an agreement between the Pakistan Peoples Party and MQM-P.

Prior to their appointment, Mr Farooque and Mr Ahmed had been working as administrator of Worker Model School, SITE Hyderabad, and Korangi, respectively. Mr Sharif had earlier been working as director-charged parking at the DMC-Central.

However, their appointment is criticised by opposition parties, which termed it a pre-poll rigging attempt as local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions were scheduled to be held on Jan 15.

On Wednesday, the office of the provincial election commissioner in a letter addressed to the local government secretary said that ECP, through a notification issued on June 10, had imposed a ban on transfer/ posting during the conduct of local government elections.

It directed the local government secretary to either withdraw the order or kept it in abeyance till the culmination of the second phase of the local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions.

The letter reminded the government of an earlier ECP notification that states: “For Divisions in respect of which Election schedule of Local Government Elections has been issued no transfer / posting of the Government Officers and Officials including those of autonomous bodies/ Authorities shall be made without prior approval of the Commission till the publication of Election Results”.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Zaidi said in a tweet that the ECP ordered withdrawal of the notification appointing administrators.

Earlier in the day, he told a press conference that his party had written a letter to the chief secretary and informed him that the newly-appointed administrators were affiliated with the MQM-P.

He said that the appointment of such officers as administrators around 20 days before the LG polls was blatant pre-poll rigging.

Also, the Sindh United Party (SUP) raised concerns over the appointment of administrators and Hyderabad commissioner before the LG polls.

SUP chairman and convener of the Sindh Action Committee Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah demanded that the ECP declare null and void the appointment orders of the new administrator and Hyderabad commissioner.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2022