MIRPURKHAS: Mutta­hida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has extended its full support to Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) candidate Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim in the by-election for PS-52 Umerkot.

The former chief minister arrived here on Saturday and visited MQM-P’s Mirpurkhas district office to discuss the prevailing political situation in Sindh with reference to the by-elections scheduled for Jan 18.

Two members of the MQM-P coordination committee joined the district office-bearers in the talks with Dr Arbab.

During the talks, the host side remained in contact with the party’s temporary headquarters at Bahadurabad, Karachi and finally extended its full support to Dr Arbab in the by-election.

Later, speaking to the media, Dr Arbab thanked the MQM-P for its support and held out the assurance that he would do his level best to ensure development works in his constituency if elected. He expressed his confidence that with the support of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), MQM-P and GDA, he would easily hand a defeat to the Pakistan Peoples Party candidate, Syed Amir Ali Shah.

In reply to a question, he said Prime Minister Imran Khan had put the country in the right direction. He pointed out that the country was making progress and attaining prosperity due to PTI’s policies. He lauded PM Khan’s “relentless efforts” towards dragging the country out of the financial and other crises left by the successive governments.

Dr Arbab also noted that hostile international forces were bent upon destabilising the country but the PTI government had kept a close watch on their conspiracies and was taking timely and swift decisions to foil them.

He described the government’s foreign policy as appropriate, observing that it was helping Pakistan maintain good relations with most of the countries and make the national economy stronger. He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would prove to be a game changer in this region and Pakistan would be among the ultimate beneficiaries. He said Pakistan’s agriculture and industrial sectors were progressing towards their full-capacity production and exports were touching a record.

He said the PPP had destroyed the province during its over decade-long rule. “It has devastated Sindh’s economy and indulged itself in massive corruption,” he said, adding that all departments and institutions stood destroyed over the past decade. He said Karachi, Hyderabad and other cities remained without any development works.

Answering a question about his rival candidate Syed Amir Ali Shah, Dr Arbab referred to the latter’s recently reported statement encouraging his supporters to “enjoy drinking liquor without any fear”, and said he would approach the Provincial Election Commission with request to disqualify him over his attitude.

He promised that he in coordination with the federal government would ensure every possible step for the development of Umerkot after winning the PS-52 seat. In this regard, he referred to his services and performance while he had been chairman of the Tharparkar district council.

Election security

Dr Arbab expressed his fear that PPP would resort to rigging and violence during the by-election as the police were at the disposal of its government.

He demanded deployment of army in the constituencies where the by-elections were being held for the sake of peace and transparency. He recalled that the army had discharged its responsibilities honestly and impartially in the previous elections.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2021