PS-93 presiding officer arrested over electoral malpractice

Police on Monday arrested a presiding officer assigned election duty in the PS-93 constituency for electoral malpractice ahead of the nationwide polls on July 25, Geo News reported.

According to police authorities, the presiding officer, Waheedullah, sent another person to substitute him for election duty. The presiding officer was arrested on the orders of the returning officer, police said. Another suspect, named Zubair, fled.

Earlier in the day, an arrest warrant was issued for the section officer of Karachi’s PS-107 constituency after he failed to turn up for his election-related duty despite repeated reminders. Treasury Department Section Officer Ghulam Hussain Bhagio also failed to respond to a show- cause notice, after which his arrest warrant was ordered, said the returning officer for the constituency.

On Saturday, six polling officers were arrested in the Sanghar and Sehwan districts of Sindh after they were caught trying to open postal ballot papers. The arrested officers included assistant returning officer Qurban Ali Memon, Muhammad Saleh, a clerk at the local tehsil office, senior clerk Abid Ali, junior clerk Mohammad Aslam, and teachers Ghulam Mustafa Solangi and Abdul Aziz.