BADIN: The Pakistan Peoples Party candidates returned unopposed on two seats of councillors in Tando Bago town after the returning officer (RO) rejected forms of their rivals a day before, while another PPP candidate won the office of chairman of a union council in Talhar as no one had filed any papers against him.

The district returning officer declared Khalid Jamali, younger son of PPP leader Haji Saeen Bux Jamali, and PPP candidate Ghulam Hussain Qambarani winners from wards No. 1 and No. 8 of Tando Bago town on Thursday.

The Tando Bago RO Ishtiaq Mangi had rejected nomination forms filed by candidates of Dr Zulfikar Mirza group and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and some independents a day earlier on various grounds.

Najaf Khowaja of Dr Mirza group, Usman Ghani Samoon of JUI-F and two independent candidates had filed papers to contest councillor’s seat from ward No. 8 and Qari Abdul Wahid Memon of JUI-F, Ameer Abbas Memon of Dr Mirza group and two others had filed papers to run for councillor from ward No. 1.

The other PPP candidate, Imam Ali Siddiqui, was elected unopposed chairman of union council Pir Ali Bahadur Shah in Talhar taluka as no one had filed forms against him. The seat had fallen vacant after the death of Pir Mukhtiar Ahmed, brother-in-law of PPP leader late Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

The local leaders of Dr Mirza group and JUI-F condemned the DRO’s decision and claimed the Tando Bago official had rejected their forms at the instigation of PPP leader Haji Saeen Bux Jamali and his son Khan Sahib Jamali, chairman of Tando Bago town committee.

They said they would challenge the decisions of the DRO and RO in court.

The Jamalis rejected their allegations as ‘baseless’.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2017