‘No one will be allowed to use pressure tactics in polling process’

Sindh election commissioner Yousaf Khattak, while talking to the media on Tuesday, said that no one will be allowed to use pressure tactics in the polling process.

Khattak was referring to the incident that took place on Monday, when a female worker of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was detained by the police on charges of forcibly trying to enter the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by pushing a guard deployed there.

He said the ECP has lodged a complaint against the PTI worker. He also said that during his meeting with Sindh police chief AD Khowaja earlier in the day, the IGP assured him that police personnel will be deployed at the ECP office for security.

Nomination forms

The election commissioner said the ECP has approved more than 50 nomination forms of candidates aspiring to contest the July 25 general elections on reserved seats from Karachi.

He said that 33 of the 76 forms for reserved seats for women in the National Assembly have been approved, 10 of the 213 forms of those vying for the same seats in the Sindh Assembly and as many of the 110 forms of those contesting the polls on reserved seats for minorities in the provincial assembly.

According to the ECP schedule, scrutiny of nominations forms, which started on Tuesday, will continue until June 19. The aspirants can file their appeals against the returning officers’ decision by June 22.

The last date to move the appellate tribunal is June 27. The revised list will be issued on June 28. The last date for withdrawal of the nomination is June 29. The election symbols will be allotted on June 30.  

Lists of candidates

The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of religio-political parties, issued the final list of its candidates for national and provincial assembly seats in Karachi. According to the list, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has been given tickets for 16 NA seats, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) for three and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) for two. Similarly, 23 PS tickets were given to the JI, 15 to the JUI-F, five to the JUP and one to the Islami Tehreek.

The Jamaatud Dawa-backed Milli Muslim League also announced the names of its candidates: 19 for PS seats and five for NA seats. The Awami National Party released the names of its candidates for 12 NA seats and 29 PS seats.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan announced the names of the party’s candidates for 21 NA seats and 41 PS seats. The party said it has submitted papers for a total of 28 candidates for the reserved seats for women and for the reserved seats for minorities in the national and provincial assemblies.

Submission of nomination forms for the upcoming general elections ended on Monday after a three-day extension, as top leaders of nearly all mainstream political parties are vying to contest from Karachi.

The NA-247 constituency, which covers areas such as Burns Road, Saddar, Civil Lines and Clifton, is considered to be a witness to a heavyweight match. Former Pakistan president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) PIB Colony faction chief Farooq Sattar, the MQM-P Bahadurabad group’s Nasreen Jalil, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Arif Alvi, Pak Sarzameen Party chief Mustafa Kamal, JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman and social activist Jibran Nasir are contesting for the constituency. They have also filed forms for other constituencies.

Pakistan Peoples Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has submitted his form for contesting for the NA-246 (South-I) constituency, which covers his party’s strongholds of Lyari and Garden. PTI chief Imran Khan has submitted his form for contesting for the NA-243 (East-II) constituency, which predominantly covers Gulshan-e-Iqbal and some parts of Jamshed Quarters.

Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi chief Afaq Ahmed, for the first time in years, is contesting in the elections. He has submitted his forms for NA-240 (Korangi-II), NA-241 (Korangi-III) and NA-254 (Central-II).

MQM-P Bahadurabad chief Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, according to a statement issued by the party, has fielded 53 candidates for provincial assembly seats and seven for NA seats across Karachi. Those contesting on the group’s ticket include Khawaja Izharul Hasan for NA-243 and Aminul Haque for NA-252 (West-V).