SUKKUR, Feb 4: Sunni Tehrik chairman Sarwat Aijaz Qadri on Monday accused the caretaker government of supporting a particular organisation in Karachi and Hyderabad and said: “We have stopped election campaign in the two cities to avoid bloody clashes.”

Mr Qadri said at a meeting of party workers and leaders at the party’s divisional office here that the workers of the organisation would make an attempt to trigger armed clashes with ST workers but “we do not wish to shed any blood.”

The party would, nevertheless, go into elections as it had given 72 tickets to candidates for contesting elections, he said, adding that the party had written several letters to the Election Commission of Pakistan complaining about irregularities and malpractices but so far it had not received any response.

He alleged that the caretaker government had set up hundreds of polling stations in sensitive areas near the offices of the organisation. They would certainly create problems on Feb 18 and make it impossible for a gentleman to cast vote in a peaceful atmosphere, he said.

Mr Qadri alleged that caretaker ministers and nazims were openly campaigning for their relatives and friends but the commission had not taken any action against them.

He said that the government removed and put under house arrest Chief Justice of Pakistan and several other judges and lawyers and registered cases against journalists, lawyers and representatives of civil society.

The government did nothing when 63 Ulema and scholars were killed in a bomb blast at Nishter Park in Karachi and it would again do thing after Benazir Bhutto’s murder, he said.

He said that the tehrik would organise seminars and rallies on Feb 5 to support Kashmiris’ peaceful struggle for freedom.

Mr Qadri appealed to people not to vote for the candidates who did nothing for their welfare during last eight years and repose their trust in religious leadership.

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

THE FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth ...
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...