KARACHI, Aug 6: The Pakistan People’s Party’s election monitoring committee on Saturday alleged that the military regime had resorted to adopting another form of victimization aimed against Awam Dost candidates by ordering suspension of the government officers, including teachers, who were relatives of the candidates.

“Well-organized and well-planned harassment is being committed in Sindh while the institutions, established to defend people’s rights, are either onlookers or hand in glove with ‘ballot dacoits’,” the committee alleged in a statement.

Head of the committee, Taj Haider, and the members, Nawab Yusuf Talpur and Manzoor Wassan, ruled out the option of boycotting the local bodies election as out of question, saying that this dream of Arbab Rahim and others would not come true.

Harassments, kidnappings, illegal detentions, arrests and raids aimed against Awam Dost candidates all over the province are continuing, according to the committee. In Saeedabad, Matiari and Hala, the coalition parties have unleashed a fresh salvo of terror tactics against their political rivals.

A number of Awam Dost candidates in the interior had been kidnapped and taken to CM’s House where they were forced to join the PML, said the committee.

It alleged that the candidates for councillor of UC Bao Khan Pathan, Ghulam Rabbani, Kamal Palijo, Mamoo Narejo, Jado Jiskani and Vikio Brohi, had been arrested by the DPO and SHO of Matiari on August 4.