THATTA, Sept 21: A three-member delegation from the United States embassy in Islamabad held meetings with the candidates who are contesting election fron Sujawal and Thatta on Saturday.
The US diplomats, Dandis Melof, Amme Tochco and Teriateno, held the meeting with the People’s Party Parliamentarians’ candidates, Babu Ghulam Hussain, PS-85, Dr Wahid Soomro, NA-237 (Thatta-I) and Ms Sassui Palijo, PS-85 (Mirpur Sakro).
Later, the PPP candidates told this scribe that, in their meeting with the US diplomats, they raised issues like pre-poll rigging, abuse of government authority and use of the influence of a provincial minister and a district Nazim in the favour of the candidates of the Shirazi group.
The PPP contestants said they also apprised the US delegation about relocation of some polling stations and use of district official mechanism in favour of their rival candidates.
The delegation also met with the candidates of the Shirazi group, Mohammad Ali Malkani (NA-238 Thatta-II) Ayaz Shah Shirazi, NA-237 (Thatta-I) and PS-86 (Sujawal) Haji Usman Malkani, PS-87 (Jati-Shah Bunder) and others.
Meanwhile, the Naib Amir of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Sindh, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Qasmi, a candidate from NA-238 Thatta-I, criticised the district administration for becoming a tool into the hands of the Shirazi group.
Speaking at a press conference here, he said that his party activists were being victimized and pressurised.
LECTURERS: The five lecturers of the Government Boys Degree College, Thatta, who had been engaged to impart training to the polling staff of the district, under a programme arranged by the UNDP, in collaboration with the Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC), Mirpurkhas, and an NGO, SRPO, have urged the in-charge, UNDP, in Pakistan, the Chief Election Commissioner and other concerned authorities to take notice of the rude, and inhuman behaviour of some of the trainers.
In a joint complaint, the lecturers, Abdul Qadir Shah, Hafiz Ubaidullah Rajar, Nasir Ali Bhat, Dr Taj Mohammad Jahangir and Mohammad Ashraf Qureshi, alleged that they were abused and humiliated by Ms Momin Agha of UNDP, Zahida Detho and Rashid Mehar of SRPO in presence of other participants, when they asked for the UNDP allowance after the completion of the training programme.
The lecturers urged an inquiry into the incident.
VACCINATION: The district Nazim, Syed Shafqat Hussain Shah Shirazi, has directed the Nazims of all union councils of Thatta District to coordinate with the staff of the district health office in achieving the target of vaccinating 128,000 women against Maternal Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) being launched under the supplementary immunization programme in the district from Sept 23 to 28.
Addressing a meeting of Nazims, Naib Nazims, and councillors of all 31 union councils, held under the banner of the health awareness and motivation through public representatives, Mr Shirazi informed that vaccinating teams would go door-to-door to vaccinate all females between the ages of 15 and 45.
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