HYDERABAD, Aug 2: The Sindh People’s Youth has demanded that the Chief Election Commissioner should take action against the Sindh cabinet, including the chief minister, for allegedly rigging the local body elections.
Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Tuesday, SPY general secretary Aijaz Dhamrah, Hyderabad division general secretary Jawaid Abbasi, Hyderabad division women’s wing president Hina Dastagir and Jamshoro women’s wing president Shahida Soomro observed that if the chief minister and his coalition partners were allowed to remain in power, record rigging would be committed in the polls. They added that bloodshed in the polls could not be ruled out.
They claimed that in the 2001 election, the Awam Dost Panel had won majority of the seats in Sindh which had flabbergasted the rulers who now had planned to rig the polls.
They alleged that the chief minister was victimizing candidates of the ADP and using the state machinery even at the union council level. They charged that the chief minister was trying to hijack the entire local body system.
They claimed that false cases had been registered against an ADP candidate for a seat of nazim, Dur Mohammad Palari, former district nazim of the defunct Dadu district, Malik Asad Sikandar, MNA Nawab Abdul Ghani Talpur, MPA Pireen Shoro and many others whose homes were being raided for their arrests.
The youth wing leaders said a reign of harassment had been unleashed throughout Sindh to prevent people from exercising their right of franchise with a view to rigging the polls.
They alleged that the chief minister and his coalition partners had paralyzed the election process.
They demanded that victimization and harassment of the ADP candidates should be stopped forthwith and the election should be held in a transparent manner.
KIDNAPPING: An Awam Dost Panel candidate for the seat of nazim of the Bhan union council, Jamshoro, Mohammad Siddiq Memon, has accused his opponent candidate and police of kidnapping and torturing him on Monday.
He was speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Tuesday. Hyderabad People’s Party Parliamentarians president MPA Zahid Ali Bhurgari, Amanullah Siyal and other local party leaders were also present.
Mr Memon said that earlier he had filed an appeal with the district returning officer for disqualification of his opponent, Roshan Ali Buriro. He had alleged in his appeal that 11 FIRs were registered against Mr Buriro and he was a proclaimed offender.
He alleged that when he was returning from the court at 5pm on Monday, he was kidnapped by the opponent candidate and police from the Hussainabad chowk. He said he was taken to different places where he was tortured. He said he was asked to join the ruling party and withdraw his appeal against Mr Buriro otherwise consequences would be disastrous.
He said he was abandoned near the Jamshoro powerhouse on Tuesday morning. He said he reported the matter to the district returning officer who advised him to file an FIR with police.
He called upon authorities concerned to take notice of the matter.
SCHOOLS: The Sindh Professors and Subject Specialists Association, Jamshoro, has drawn the attention of the government to problems of higher secondary schools of the district and urged authorities to rectify the situation.