Five killed in polling-related violence

LAHORE/HAFIZABAD/HYDERABAD: Five people were killed and dozens of others injured in polling-related incidents during the second phase of the LG government elections in Sindh and Punjab. In the Nangel Saadhan area of Sheikhupura, Khalil, a supporter of the PTI, killed his father who wanted to vote for some other party and later committed suicide. The leg of a PTI worker was fractured after a clash in UC-52, while polling remained suspended for around two hours in UC-52, UC-53 and UC-70 after rival groups exchanged gunfire.
A JI worker Sadaqat Ali was hospitalised after being beaten up by the supporters of a rival party in Muridke. A man was killed and over 15 injured when two PML-N groups clashed in Hafizabad.
In Gujranwala, gunshots were fired at the residence of Minister of State Barrister Usman Ibrahim who claimed that rival candidates were behind the incident.
In UC-52, Garjakh, a clash took place between the workers of PTI and PML-N. As a result, Abbas Gujjar was injured. Meanwhile, police recovered arms, including a Kalashnikov, from two vehicles in the Civil Lines area and arrested Faisal and Hameed.
Four incidents of violence were reported from Hafizabad where over 23 people were injured. PTI supporters attacked the convoy of PML-N MPA Asadullah Arain after an exchange of harsh words while he was on his way to Geegay village. Four persons, including his driver and gunman, were among those who received wounds. Police said they had arrested five persons each from the two parties.
In Ward No-1 of Municipal Committee Hafizabad, the supporters of PML-N candidate Shoaib Tarar and Sarwar Gujjar, an independent, clashed. As a result, seven people, including the independent candidate, were injured. Police registered a case and arrested the two contestants.
Soon after receiving the information, the army and Rangers personnel reached the scene and helped resume polling which remained suspended for 45 minutes.
Another 10 people were injured as the supporters of PML-N and PTI scuffled in UC-40 (Maqsooda Bhattian). Later, police arrested nine accused, including the PTI candidate for chairman, Saifullah Bhatti.
A 40-year-old voter, Muhammad Afzal, died of a heart attack at the Amro Kalan polling station.
In the fourth incident, supporters of PTI candidate Iqbal Hinjra injured Arif Hinjra — an independent candidate for councillor’s seat — and Ghulam Mustafa at Madharianwala.
In Chichawatni, PML-N supporters in Chak No 18/11-L shot at and seriously injured Rana Waseem Qamar, who was a PTI candidate for the councillor’s seat. Police registered a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act and arrested five accused.
Two PTI workers were injured in a clash with the PML-N supporters on casting fake ballot papers in Chak No 38/14.
Three people were injured in a firing incident in Khanewal, while 10 in Pindi Bhattian. Three people were injured when the supporters of PTI and PML-N had a fight in Mianwali.
In Chak No 6/88 R located on the Sahiwal-Faisalabad Road, a voter Rana Sajid Advocate was shot at and seriously injured by unidentified bike riders as he left his house for polling station. Separately, the supporters of winning candidate Malik Salim of PML-N injured the rival independent, Shabbir Hussain Jutt, while celebrating their victory outside Jutt’s house.
In Chiniot, supporters of an independent candidate created tension by prohibiting women from casting votes. As a result, the polling process had to be stopped for sometime. However, police brought the situation under control and polling resumed after half an hour.
In Ward No-15 of Chiniot, activists of two political parties, who had gathered outside a women polling station, scuffled over the rigging allegations, during which supporters of a group resorted to indiscriminate firing. However, miscreants fled the scene on the arrival of security forces.
The polling process remained suspended for about an hour at a polling station in Ward No-38 after a clash between two rival groups, resulting in injuries to five people.
Four people, including three PML-N supporters, were injured in separate incidents at Toba Tek Singh.
In Thatta, one person was killed and three injured in a clash between the PPP and the Shirazi group. Four persons were also injured in a clash between two groups in Sakhrio village of Mithi, as the supporters of a candidate were stopping voters from casting their votes.
Earlier on Wednesday night, a candidate of Sindh United Party (SUP), Dr Anwar Leghari, was shot dead in the Qasimabad area of Hyderabad. Two of his associates, Abdus Sami Chandio and Waqas Chandio were critically wounded in the attack.
On the other hand, DG Rangers Maj Gen Bilal Akbar visited Thatta, Badin and Hyderabad to review the security arrangement.
Meanwhile, six women polled their votes for the first time in the Mohripur village of Kabirwala where women were not allowed to cast their votes since the creation of Pakistan. There were 1,450 female voters in the village.
Meanwhile, a woman was found casting multiple votes in UC-9 of Sargodha. Taking notice of media reports, the DCO directed the returning officer to take action against the polling staff.
In Hyderabad, wrong election symbols on ballot papers triggered protest as some annoyed people started aerial firing outside the Hussainabad polling station, resulting in injuries to three people.
A similar protest was witnessed in Qasimabad Ward 10, Paretabad UC-8 and UC-87 after which elections for thechairman and vice-chairman slots were postponed in all the four constituencies, while voting on general councillors was held as per schedule.
The overall turnout was poor while the polling staff’s failure to reach the polling stations on time was another problem, which irked voters who awaited their arrival in remote areas for hours.
In some areas, the polling stations’ staff complained about the changed voters lists, while there were also some reports about the violation of code of conduct.
Meanwhile, four persons were reportedly injured in a clash at the Lal Bakhsh Bhurgari polling station of UC Chukhi.
On the other hand, the ECP complaint centre established at the provincial office in Karachi received more than 60 complaints with regard to alleged discrepancies during the second phase of the LG polls.