FAISALABAD, April 26 The by-poll in the Punjab Assembly constituency, PP-63, is being considered potentially volatile because of involvement of two rivals in a bloody feud which has so far claimed scores of lives.
The supporters of the both rivals - Amjad Waraich and Ilyas Jutt - are causing nuisance in the constituency by brandishing sophisticated weapons in their respective election gatherings.
Amjad Warraich, who is chairman of Pakistan National Muslim League, is himself in the run for the seat, while Ilyas Jutt is supporting the Pakistan Muslim League-N candidate, Ajmal Asif, who had resigned from the assembly after facing charges of having a fake degree.
Ilyas Jutt, who had been the district president of the Pakistan Peoples Party but switched over to the party's 'Patriot' faction, had also submitted his nomination papers as an independent candidate but later withdrew from the contest. His son-in-law was elected MNA from NA-81 in 2002 general elections.
The constituency has 119,445 registered voters of which 51,442 are female. The election commission will set up 110 polling stations in the constituency. Almost 60 per cent voters of the area belong to Rajput clan while other considerable casts include Jutts, Gujjars, Ansaris and Arains.
Authorities concerned have reportedly dispatched a report to the Punjab government mentioning the sensitive nature of constituency, the overall law and order situation and terrorist threat.
The report has warned of possible killings of high profile persons in the constituency to implicate the rivals in cases, saying the both groups have potential to do that.
Besides the Jutt-Waraich rivalry, the administration is also apprehending terrorists' reaction to the killing of Dr Umer Kundi, a suspected Al Qaeda operative, about a month ago in the city.
According to sources, both Jutt and Waraich want to establish their influence in the area and could unleash violence during the election for the purpose.
A couple of days ago, Anu Shah of Chak 66-JB, who opened an election office of Warraich, was allegedly picked up by the supporters of Jutt to teach him a lesson. No case was registered.
Meanwhile, removal of an election billboard of Waraich from Sidhar bypass a couple of days ago, allegedly by the PML-N supporters, also caused tension between the two groups.
To avert any untoward situation, district administration and police jointly called a meeting of candidates at the DCO office a few days back. However, none of the main candidates attended the meeting citing various reasons.
DCO Saeed Wahla told the representatives of the candidates attending the meeting to refrain from displaying weapons and firearms and maintain discipline in their campaigns.
He said local police should be informed by the candidates about the venue and time of their meetings at least 24 hours in advance so that necessary security measures could be taken. He said any complaint or problem should be brought into the notice of returning officer.
City Police Officer Rao Sardar Ali said a special security plan had been chalked out for the by-election and a stern action would be taken against those found involved in displaying arms. He said in case of any threat to a candidate, police guards could be provided to him, if needed.
