SHIKARPUR, Dec 15: Veteran politician Illahi Bux Soomro and PML-N’s candidate for NA-208 (Jacobabad) has described the present caretaker set-up at federal and provincial levels as a cruel joke with people.

He said at a press conference after addressing a gathering of Soomro community at Soomro Saat-e-Sirai on Friday that free and fair elections under caretaker governments comprising PML-backed people were questionable. They would get their candidates elected through pre-poll rigging, he said.

He alleged that the DPO of Jacobabad was supporting his rival who belonged to PML-Q and was getting full protocol. The caretaker governments had made transfers and postings of judges after the announcement of election schedule, he said.

He said that caretaker government had deprived print and electronic media of freedom, which was their democratic and moral right.