MIRPURKHAS, Dec 7: The Election Commission has ordered an inquiry after receiving a complaint from PPP candidate for NA-228 Umerkot-I Nawab Yousuf Talpur about former Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim using government machinery and official protocol despite having relinquished.
The Election Commission had appointed Sindh chief secretary the inquiry officer and asked him to submit the report soon, Nawab Yousuf Talpur told this reporter on Friday.
The former MNA had submitted a complaint in writing to the Election Commission of Pakistan in Islamabad that former chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim was still enjoying official protocol and using government machinery.
Mr Talpur has alleged that Dr Rahim was getting officers of his choice posted despite the fact that the election schedule had been announced.
He also claimed that the former chief minister had provided jobs to his favourite people.
Nawab Yousuf Talpur has confirmed to this scribe that the Election Commission had ordered the inquiry on his complaint as he welcomed the Election Commission’s action.
Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party candidate for NA-226 Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani has also alleged that former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim is enjoying the official protocol and getting posted his favourite officers.
Speaking at a PPP meeting here on Friday, Pir Aftab alleged the caretaker government of discrimination and said that the elections would be a farce in the present circumstances.
He claimed that all the former union council and district nazims have been involved in election campaigning and the Election Commission had failed to implement its directives in this regard.
The meeting was informed that the party had set up an anti-rigging cell.
Prem Shivani adds from Mithi: The PPP general secretary of Tharparkar chapter, Mohammad Dadan Hingorjo, has urged the Election Commission, NAB and the caretaker government to take notice of what he called the “unlawful tactics” of former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim to get posted polling staff of his choice at polling stations of the district to rig the upcoming elections.
In a press statement issued here on Friday, Dadan Hingorjo alleged that former chief minister had assigned a task of preparing the lists of polling staff of his choice to his relative EDO education and claimed that such lists were being prepared at the EDO’s residence under the supervision of a taluka nazim, serving doctors and some other officials.
Hingorjo further alleged that in violation of rules the EDO education had issued more than 1,300 offer orders in the first week of December for the posts of primary schoolteachers in back dates of October while the Civil Hospital Mithi’s civil surgeon had also issued fitness certificates to such candidates during last few days, in back dates of October.
Such offer orders were being distributed by the henchmen of Arbab for getting votes, he claimed.
He said that this kind of unlawful acts indicate that the elections would be far for being free and fair. Hingorjo urged inquiry into the matter.