SUKKUR, Feb 4: Sunni Tehrik chairman Sarwat Aijaz Qadri on Monday accused the caretaker government of supporting a particular organisation in Karachi and Hyderabad and said: “We have stopped election campaign in the two cities to avoid bloody clashes.”

Mr Qadri said at a meeting of party workers and leaders at the party’s divisional office here that the workers of the organisation would make an attempt to trigger armed clashes with ST workers but “we do not wish to shed any blood.”

The party would, nevertheless, go into elections as it had given 72 tickets to candidates for contesting elections, he said, adding that the party had written several letters to the Election Commission of Pakistan complaining about irregularities and malpractices but so far it had not received any response.

He alleged that the caretaker government had set up hundreds of polling stations in sensitive areas near the offices of the organisation. They would certainly create problems on Feb 18 and make it impossible for a gentleman to cast vote in a peaceful atmosphere, he said.

Mr Qadri alleged that caretaker ministers and nazims were openly campaigning for their relatives and friends but the commission had not taken any action against them.

He said that the government removed and put under house arrest Chief Justice of Pakistan and several other judges and lawyers and registered cases against journalists, lawyers and representatives of civil society.

The government did nothing when 63 Ulema and scholars were killed in a bomb blast at Nishter Park in Karachi and it would again do thing after Benazir Bhutto’s murder, he said.

He said that the tehrik would organise seminars and rallies on Feb 5 to support Kashmiris’ peaceful struggle for freedom.

Mr Qadri appealed to people not to vote for the candidates who did nothing for their welfare during last eight years and repose their trust in religious leadership.

Opinion

Editorial

What now?
20 Sep, 2024

What now?

Govt's actions could turn the reserved seats verdict into a major clash between institutions. It is a risky and unfortunate escalation.
IHK election farce
20 Sep, 2024

IHK election farce

WHILE India will be keen to trumpet the holding of elections in held Kashmir as a return to ‘normalcy’, things...
Donating organs
20 Sep, 2024

Donating organs

CERTAIN philanthropic practices require a more scientific temperament than ours to flourish. Deceased organ donation...
Lingering concerns
19 Sep, 2024

Lingering concerns

Embarrassed after failing to muster numbers during the high-stakes drama that played out all weekend, the govt will need time to regroup.
Pager explosions
Updated 19 Sep, 2024

Pager explosions

This dangerous brinkmanship is likely to drag the region — and the global economy — into a vortex of violence and instability.
Losing to China
19 Sep, 2024

Losing to China

AT a time when they should have stepped up, a sense of complacency seemed to have descended on the Pakistan hockey...