Karachi
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement said on Tuesday that certain forces were creating an atmosphere of fear in the areas falling under the constituencies of NA-245 and PS-115 - the by-polls for which are scheduled to be held on April 7 - as part of a conspiracy to taint the reputation of the party.
“Noting that the contest appears to be one-sided with the MQM set to easily win the polls, violence was orchestrated in these areas on April 2,” MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar said at a press conference at the Khursheed Begum Memorial Hall.
“The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Haqiqi candidates are complaining at the same time that their rallies and offices were attacked by MQM activists and supporters and it appears to be a conspiracy to damage our party’s reputation and create doubts among our voters,” he added.
“But these tactics won’t be successful as the MQM’s mandate is intact and any conspiracy or controversy is unlikely to dent its vote bank.”
The MQM leader said his party’s supporters were also being harassed and threatened to stay home on polling day so that the candidate of these forces’ choice could win through rigging.
Sattar demanded that both the federal and provincial election commissions should take notice of these incidents and play their role in ensuring that the polls were held in a transparent and peaceful manner. He also demanded an impartial inquiry into the incident on April 2.
The MQM leader said the areas falling in NA-245 and PS-115 were strongholds of his party and it had always won every election there. “Any conspiracy against the MQM will be thwarted,” he added.
JUI-F withdraws
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has withdrawn its candidate in favour of the Pakistan Peoples Party in the forthcoming by-elections on PS-115 to be held onApril 7.
After a meeting held between officials of both the parties on Tuesday, the JUI-F consented to withdraw its candidate, Ehsanullah Hazarvi, from the contest in favour of PPP’s candidate Saeed Chawla.
The JUI-F also appealed to its workers and supporters to vote for the PPP’s candidate. An independent candidate, Muhammad Imran Tareen, has also announced his withdrawal in favour of Saeed Chawla. Earlier, the JUI-F also announced supporting the PPP's candidate in the NA-245.