KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan on Saturday alleged that the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Jamaat-i-Islami were openly violating election laws in their respective campaigns for the Feb 8 general elections as their local government representatives were freely using government funds and machinery for campaigning.

Addressing a press conference, MQM-P leader Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take strict notice of violation of rules and regulations in the election campaigns launched by the PPP and the JI.

The MQM-P leader said it was important to follow the rules from the announcement of the schedule of the ECP till the holding of the elections.

He said that Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab was violating Section 9 of the Election Act while ‘Zardari Sahib’s friends’ were violating election rules and regulations in district Central.

Asks ECP to take strict notice of violations of rules, its code of conduct; announces support to GDA’s Irfanullah Marwat on PS-105

Mr Hassan said that Murtaza Wahab was inaugurating World Bank funded projects and giving credit to his party chairman. “These are projects to give relief to the people, they should not be politicised,” he said adding that this practice should be stopped completely to ensure free and fair elections in the province.

He said that huge pictures of leaders and candidates of the PPP and the JI had been installed in violation of election laws and the ECP was watching the situation like a silent spectator and taking no notice.

“The money that has to be spent on the city’s uplift and development is being invested by the local representatives in the campaigns of their candidates,” he added.

The MQM-P leader said that no scheme could be inaugurated after the announcement of the election schedule under the election rules. “Even in Hyderabad, PPP local body representatives are freely using government resources,” he added.

He claimed that municipal commissioners were taking down MQM-P flags on direction of the PPP.

Mr Hassan said that the MQM-P had not used any municipal funds anywhere in the 2008 election. “No complaint was filed against us in the 2008 general elections,” he added.

He asked the ECP to stop the local government representatives from spending ‘billions of rupees’ in the election campaigns of their respective parties’ candidates for the upcoming polls.

The MQM leader said that the JI was hypocritically using the name of Islam and Palestine in their election campaign.

He said that the UC chairmen and other local bodies representatives in NA-232 were running election campaign for their candidates.

Later in the evening, the MQM-P announced that it would support Grand Democratic Alliancec candidate Irfanullah Marwat on PS-105 in Karachi.

Speaking at a press conference, MQM-P leader Rauf Siddiqui said that in return the GDA would support party candidates on NA-237 and PS-104.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2024