HYDERABAD, May 13: Activists of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), JamiatUlema-i-Pakistan (JUP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) staged a sit-in at Pakistan Chowk on Monday to press the Election Commission of Pakistan to order a re-election in Karachi and Hyderabad where, according to them “a record rigging was witnessed in the May 11 general elections”. They held the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement responsible for the alleged rigging.

Ahmed Rasheed and Mohammad Usman Kennedy of PTI, Shaikh Shaukat and Abdul Waheed Qureshi of the JI and Hussain Bukhsh Hussaini of the JUP led the protesters, and said that Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim should quit over his failure to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the two cities.

Criticising MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s remarks in his May 12 telephonic address from London, they demanded a ‘treason case’ to be registered against him, and said his party should be banned.

They said voters in Karachi and Hyderabad had been held hostage during the course of the polling and the two parties’ opponents were attacked and tortured wherever they tried to resist the rigging. The sit-in was held from 5.30pm to 9pm and created a traffic jam on all roads around the protest venue.

SUKKUR: Candidates of the PML-N for NA-208 former speaker National Assembly Ellahi Bux Soomro and for PS-14 Muhammad Aslam Abro have alleged that historic rigging was committed in the general election held on May 11.

Addressing a press conference at the press club of Jacobabad on Sunday when former chairman of Senate Muhammad Mian Soomro was also present, he said the result of their constituencies had been provided to their agents on plain paper, which was to be provided on Form-14 by the presiding officer concerned.

According to reports, Mr Soomro said the officer had failed to implement the principles of the Election Commission.

He alleged that the presiding officer later himself had stamped on ballot papers to help win the PPP-nominated candidates.

He said that in Garhi Khero, police was working for his rivals Jakhranis and claimed that the results announced on media were wrong.

He said their 50 polling agents were missing and they did not come back.

Mr Soomro said he was taking the lead of more than 10,000 votes till late night then how his rival had received votes more than him.

Muhammad Aslam Abro said he was winning in 99 polling stations of PS-14 and received 4,500 more votes that his opponent candidate of PPP Sardar Muhammad Muqeem Khoso. Bogus votes were included in the darkness of night to give victory to the PPP candidate, he alleged.

KHAIRPUR: PML-N and PML-F supporters blocked the National Highway at Therhi Bypass on Monday evening in protest against alleged rigging by their rivals in Khairpur and Kot Diji talukas. They claimed that on Saturday their voters were attacked and one of them, a PML-F worker, was killed when they resisted the rivals’ attempts to rig the election. A number of other PML-N and PML-F supporters were wounded in the violence, they added.

Led by PML-N Sukkur division chief Syed Nawaz Ali Shah, PML-F leader Mir Shah Nawaz Talpur and Sardar Imtiaz Phulpoto, the protesters kept the highway blocked for more than four hours and demanded arrest of the attackers and killers.

They alleged that the district administration and police did not cooperate with them when they demanded security during the violence.

They said that the police also did not oblige them when they tried to lodge an FIR of the murder.

MITHI: Thousands of the PPP activists took out a rally and observed a sit-in here on Monday outside the local press club in protest against what they called massive rigging in PS-60 Diplo during elections on May 11 allegedly by the Arbabs and their henchmen.

Addressing a press conference, senator Dr Khatumal Jivan and PPPP candidate engineer Giyanchand for PS-60 alleged that the Arbabs had broken all previous records of rigging at many polling stations of PS-60 Diplo.

They said the Arbabs did not allow entry of the polling agents of the PPPP candidate to polling stations and got cast 80-90 per cent votes in favour of their candidate Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim.

According to unofficial results, Gyanchand received 34,191 votes while his rival Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim of Peoples Muslim League bagged 51,222 votes.

Mr Jivan and Giyanchand also accused the district returning officer (DRO), the returning officer (RO) and their staff of being involved in the rigging.