Enraged people, NA candidate attack DRO office in RYK

RAHIM YAR KHAN/ISLAMABAD: Police have registered a case against over 125 persons, including a senior lawyer and candidate for National Assembly Constituency NA-171, on the charge of attacking and vandalising the office of District Returning Officer (DRO) while submitting documents for symbol in Rahim Yar Khan on Sunday.

On the complaint of Assistant Returning Officer (ARO), a case has been registered with Anti-Terrorism provisions against them.

The allegations in the case were rejected during an emergency meeting of the District Bar Association while special police teams were formed to arrest the nominated and unknown accused in the case.

ARO Muhammad Ali stated in his complaint that he was busy in his office with normal official work when the candidate of constituency NA-171 Mumtaz Mustafa of PTI (Nazriati) came along with his colleagues and tried to submit the election symbol batsman ticket. Ali said that he told the candidate that Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had instructed that the batsman election symbol tickets were fake and refused to collect his documents.

This enraged Mumtaz Mustafa and he started threatening the ARO and his staff of dire consequences. At the same time, hundreds of people armed with weapons, including accused Hasan Mustafa, Basharat Hindal, Muhammad Ali, Jam Mansoor, Raees Muazzam and Mian Muhammad Athar, entered and threatened to kill the staff, including him, and shouted slogans and went to the office of District Returning Officer (Deputy Commissioner).

The main gate of the commissioner’s office was closed and locked, but the assailants fired indiscriminately in the air to create fear and panic in the presence of security guards on duty and forcibly entered the office and took the District Returning Officer (Deputy Commissioner) hostage.

Assistant Commissioner, Liaquatpur, who was in the office, was attacked and the charged people held the office and staff hostage for hours. On seeing the police presence, the National Assembly candidate and other attackers, including lawyers, dispersed while shouting slogans.

The police have registered a case against more than 125 people, including the National Assembly candidate for NA-171, under the complaint of Assistant Returning Officer Muhammad Ali with the anti-terrorism provisions.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Sunday took notice of the incident at the office of District Returning Officer in Rahim Yar Khan’s NA-171 constituency and summoned the provincial election commissioner and the contesting candidate on Tuesday for regular hearing of the matter.

The ECP spokesman said according to an incident reported from the media, a candidate in NA-171 harassed the RO and DRO in the office of DRO and interfered in the election process at the time of allotment of election symbol.

In this regard, he explained the ECP took immediate notice of the seriousness of the matter and the Chief Election Commissioner personally spoke to the Chief Secretary Punjab, DRO/Deputy Commissioner Rahim Yar Khan and District Police Officer Rahim Yar Khan to get preliminary information about the incident.

Moreover, he said the provincial election commissioner Punjab has been summoned along with the contesting candidate on Tuesday for regular hearing, so that further action can be taken under the Constitution and the law.