KARACHI, March 21: A group of union council Naib Nazims and town councillors of Malir Town has called for intervention by the provincial government to ensure transparency in the by-elections for Malir Town Nazim.

Speaking at a joint press conference here on Sunday, Naib Nazim of UC-6 Faheemuddin Ahmed, Naib Nazim of UC-5 Zafar Iqbal, Naib Nazim of UC-1 Mohammad Zaman, Naib Nazim of UC-4 Nazeer Ahmed Kachhi and town councillors Shazia Batul and minority town councillor Imtiaz Khokhar said that either the governor or the chief minister should take up the matter to stop the alleged manoeuvring by an opposition group in the election process.

The provincial authorities should summon the town council session on March 23, wherein the nominations be invited for the vacant seat, they demanded. They alleged that the other group had secretly held the session on March 17, and filed nominations of their favourites without giving sufficient time to others.

They further alleged that two town councillors belonged to their group were kidnapped by the opponents to reduce their strength in the by-elections. Speaking on the occasion, Imtiaz Khokhar and Zaman Jokhio claimed that they were kept away from March 17 session by the councillors and coordinators of the Al-Khidmat group so that they could not vote for the election of Town Nazim.

They rejected charges that they were kidnapped by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. They said they were not kept hostage at gunpoint, rather the Al-Khidmat group councillors and coordinators stressed them not to attend the council session.

Zafar Iqbal, Naib Nazim of UC-5, who was a candidate for the slot of town council, said apparently the move was made to get the nominee of the Al-Khidmat group elected as Town Nazim.

He said that when he along with members reached Town Council to attend the session on March 17, in which election for the Town Nazim was to be held, they were told by the mother of Imtiaz Khokhar that her son had gone missing.

He said Zaman Jokhio was also absent from the session, on which they asked Naib Nazim Malir Town Wasim Mirza to postpone the election of Nazim. But, he said, Mr Mirza wanted to go ahead with the process, on which they boycotted the session.

He said they had now requisitioned the session and wanted it to be held immediately so that the election for the Town Nazim could be held. A statement of Mr Khokhar's mother, dated March 17, was distributed among journalists on the occasion, in which she expressed suspicions that Town Naib Nazim Wasim Mirza had kept her son in his custody. -APP/PPI