MQM decries ‘arrest’ of its LG polls candidates

Karachi
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement said on Tuesday that is candidates for the upcoming local government elections were being whisked away by the law enforcement agencies and kept at undisclosed locations.
“Dozens of our candidates who had been cleared in the scrutiny process have been arrested by police,” Waseem Akhter, the MQM deputy convener and a candidate himself, told reporters at the Karachi Press Club.
“This is pre-poll rigging by the government. It violates the rules of the Election Commission of Pakistan,” he added.
“The transfer, posting and arrest of candidates after the ECP announced the schedule for the local government polls is a clear-cut violation of its rules. The authorities concerned must take notice of it otherwise we will be unable to stop the public from reacting severely.”
Akhter said the arrested candidates mostly included those contesting the polls for the slots of chairpersons and vice chairpersons and that showed that the government wanted to prevent the MQM from landing the key slot of the Karachi’s mayor.
Giving details, he said Nadeem Rao, who had filed his nomination papers for the seat of the vice chairperson of the UC-11 in the East district, was arrested by the law enforcement agencies on October 7 after his papers were cleared by the ECP.
Similarly, he added, Arshad Khan of the UC-7 who had filed his papers for both the seats of the chairperson and the vice chairperson had also been picked up.
Tahir Imtiaz, contesting a general council seat, and Dr Naseem in Nawabshah, who had filed his papers for the chairman seat, were also taken away.
Akhter said law enforcement personnel in civvies raided the house of Sheikh Mohammed Kaleem, the candidate for the chairman seat in UC-26, on October 9 but as he was not home, they took away his brother and three nephews.
“These tactics are aimed at pushing the MQM against the wall and a conspiracy is being hatched to grab the top slot.”
Akhter said even proposers and those seconding the candidates were not being spared.
The MQM leader asked the prime minister, the chief of army staff and the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of the situation.
He also appealed to the Sindh chief minister and the Rangers director general to take notice of these tactics and give space to the MQM.