NAWABSHAH: The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), backed by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, staged a second ‘power show’ in Moro town on Tuesday against alleged rigging in the Feb 8 general elections.

Thousands of workers and supporters, including women and children, of parties in the GDA as well as the JUI-F and PTI gathered at Sadhuja near Moro town along National Highway to raise their voice against what they called fraudulent elections that paved the way for the unprecedented victory of the Pakistan Peoples Party in Sindh.

The participants were carrying flags of their respective parties and chanting slogans against those who carried out the rigging and in favour of their respective leadership.

Speaking on the occasion, chief coordinator of the GDA and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s general secretary Syed Sadruddin Shah Rashidi said the onus was on the Supreme Court in the wake of countrywide protests and officers’ confessions to constitute a ‘mega’ commission for probing charges of rigging, which has indeed been carried out on a ‘mega level’ in the Feb 8 general election.

He told the gathering that their votes were stolen on the election day though massive rigging to ensure victory of Pakistan Peoples Party.

He warned that the parties in the GDA would not tolerate insult and theft of public trust and they would not allow anyone to render their votes useless. It was the responsibility of the apex court to find out the truth about ‘mega’ rigging, he said.

He said that PPP had snatched Roti, kapra or makan from people and PPP’s manifesto was a piece of lie. Sindh was not anyone’s personal fief but a land of poor peasants and labourers, he said.

He warned those who were using foul language against Pir Pagara that they would soon learn who Pir Saheb was. The FIR lodged against Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi and others was fabricated as the Jatoi family was among those few who had participated in the Movement for Restoration of Democracy, he said.

Former Sindh chief minister and GDA leader Liaqat Ali Jatoi said that current PPP was not genuine Bhutto’s party it was “Zardari league”. Massive rigging was conducted after closing down mobile phone network under a conspiracy and results were hanged, he said.

“If it was to be done then there should not have been any elections at all. We’ll not allow PPP being handed over this government and will resist it tooth and nail. They may arrest us if they can,” he said.

He ridiculed PPP’s observance of Youm-i-Tashakkur in Thatta and said the party should have instead celebrated the day as Youm-i-Dhandhli.

JUI-F Sindh’s general secretary Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro said that of the 16-minute speech Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari delivered in Thatta he spent nine minutes on Pir Pagara and him (Soomro).

He said the GDA had launched its protest from Hyderabad, which had just reached Moro and would now move to Sukkur, Matiari, Badin and then reach Karachi. He had defeated Mr Bhutto-Zardari by 50,000 votes, he said and challenged him to bring his copies of Form-45 so as to prove the truth.

He said that people of Mirpir Bhutto had inflicted a resounding defeat on Mr Bhutto-Zardari. They would not allow the fake winners to take oath, he warned.

Qaumi Awami Tehreek’s chief Ayaz Latif Palijo said that below the belt attacks were made against Pir Pagara and Maulana Fazlur Rehman by PPP in Thatta.

GDA’s secretary general Safdar Abbasi said that the massively-rigged elections would never be accepted. The GDA would hold a public meeting in Badin on Feb 26, he said.

Meanwhile, the PPP termed the protest sit-in of GDA “anti-people” and asked the alliance as well as the JUI-F to present evidence of rigging before the Election Com-mission of Pakistan and courts.

In a statement, PPP-Sindh president Nisar Khuhro said that no “undemocratic” plot against the people’s mandate would succeed and the new government would complete its five-year term.

PPP-Parliamentarian Inform-ation Secretary Shazia Marri said that the GDA shall be paid back in same coin if it did not stop using foul language against PPP leadership.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2024