KARACHI, June 5: The joint candidate for the election of nazim of Union Council No-2 Manzoor Colony, Jamshed Town, Malik Shahnawaz Awan has announced a boycott of the by-election scheduled for June 7.

Mr Awan, who was fielded as a joint candidate of the Watan Parast and Awam Dost panels, respectively backed by Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan People's Party, made his decision public on Saturday at the emergency press conference addressed by vice-president of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy Sardar Abdul Raheem at the Karachi Press Club.

Giving the background for the decision, Sardar Raheem accused the authorities for pre-poll rigging by removing the name of Malik Shahnawaz Awan from the voters' list.

Mr Shahnawaz, he said, had been a resident in Manzoor Colony from the last 29 years, where he was not only running his business but also owned property, possessed a national identity card, domicile and passport containing his Manzoor Colony address.

The ARD leader said Shahnawaz's name was enlisted in the electoral list of the 2002 elections on No 205 in the enumeration block code No 117320301, asking how did his name then disappear from the local bodies voters' list.

He said when the attention of the chief election commissioner was drawn towards the matter, and demanded that Shahnawaz's name be enlisted in in the voters' list, the CEC's response, he added was that the request would be given consideration after the June 7 local bodies by-polls.

The ARD leader comparing the case of Malik Shahnawaz with that of Mst Noor Jehan of Nawan Lane Hasan Ali, Union Council No- 11, Lyari Town, who had also applied for registration of her name in the voters list, said the latter's plea was granted and her name enlisted immediately in the voters list of 2002-02 local bodies elections.

Sardar Raheem said that when they drew the attention of the CEC towards Mst Noor Jehan's case and the injustice being done to Shanawaz Awan, no reply was received.

He said when they approached the court to seek justice , no relief was provided to them because it was futile to expect justice on petitions pertaining to human rights, citizens rights and constitutional affairs.

These issues failed to get attention of the courts, he said, as in all such cases dates were fixed after six months and the hope of getting justice was lost.

Sardar Raheem said that in view of the critical situation prevailing in the city they had decided to boycott the election of June 7, and appealed to people of the area to keep themselves away from polling to express their hatred against pre-poll rigging.

Meanwhile, he also warned the administration that armed activists of favourite parties of the government were freely moving in Manzoor Colony, adding that responsibility would lie on the shoulders of the government if some grave incident occurred.