KARACHI, April 27: Reiterating his party’s stance that it will never leave the electoral arena for militants or their political patrons, Senator Shahi Syed of the Awami National Party has said that his party wanted a criminal case against the Election Commission of Pakistan, caretaker Sindh chief minister and the inspector general of police regarding the Mominabad bomb blast that claimed 11 lives.

Speaking at a press conference at his residence on Saturday, Senator Syed said that two days back the ANP had sent a letter to the ECP that it would hold responsible the ECP, caretaker government and the Sindh IGP if any leader or worker of the party was targeted.

“Now we have submitted an application for the registration of a criminal case against the ECP, the caretaker CM and the IG Sindh about the Mominabad blast,” said Sen Syed as the party observed a day of mourning over the Thursday night killings.

The Sindh ANP president said that it was the responsibility of the ECP and the caretaker government to provide security to candidates and ensure free and fair election.

He said that the election campaign was running only in Punjab, where Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, Imran Khan and Jamaat-i-Islami were holding public meetings and the liberal and progressive parties like the ANP, Pakistan People’s Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement were being repeatedly targeted.

He said that terrorism was not only an issue for one party but it was the issue of whole Pakistan.

Accompanied by Bashir Jan, who survived the Friday bomb attack, Sen Syed said that the IGP withdrew the security given to the ANP on the grounds that the ECP had instructed him to do so. However, the chief election commissioner was saying that he did not give any directive to withdraw security from political parties, he added.He said he did not understand as to why the law-enforcement agencies were not taking action against terrorists despite the fact that the ANP had even provided them with the numbers of the phones the terrorists were using to extend threats to party leaders and workers.

Level-playing field

He said that the incidents of terrorism against progressive forces were part of a conspiracy aimed at stopping the moderate and enlightened parties from contesting the elections. In this situation, he said, it would be a joke if anyone believed that free, fair and transparent elections were going to be held on May 11.

In view of a US plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in 2014 efforts were being made to send ‘political wings of terrorists’ in parliament in maximum numbers and to restrict the representations of liberal, progressive and enlightened forces, said Sen Syed.

“We want to tell the world that the ANP will never leave ground for terrorists and their political wings…we will fight till the last,” he said, asking all political parties, religious scholars, civil society, etc, to think because it was an issue of the integrity of Pakistan.

He said that the election campaign of the ANP would continue with vigour despite the Friday tragic incident. “We will take extra precautions to avoid any terrorist activity in future.”

He called upon the Chief Justice of Pakistan, corps commander and the Rangers director-general to take notice of the Mominabad incident and order arrest of the killers and take measures to prevent such deadly incidents.