SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
By-elections in Pakistan usually go unnoticed in Pakistan. Rarely has a by-election attracted so much attention from the public and media as have the coming polls in Karachi’s NA-246.It’s not just a battle for turf or a national assembly seat, it’s a contest between the entrenched and the emerging. There has been a scuffle at Jinnah Ground between Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) activists. The political temperature is boiling up. After PTI’s demand rangers have been deployed in the area and most probably election would be conducted under ranger’s supervision. PTI has also demanded biometric way of voting but it is rejected.
PTI has alleged that the workers of MQM are creating hindrances in their election campaign in this constituency. PTI candidate, in this by-election, Imran Ismail visited the constituency for election campaign, MQM’s workers united in groups and broke the screen and window of his car, the very next day they also put out PTI’s camps and beat some of the party’s workers. Now it is the responsibility of the election commission to take notice of the allegations raised by PTI and clear the place for all participants. Article 21 lays the responsibility on the Election Commission to hold fair and transparent elections but it seems unsuccessful in this regard. All the law enforcement agencies are liable to obey the election commission’s orders. Therefore, election commission must seek their assistance in order to hold a fair and transparent election in NA-246 constituency.
This election is of key importance for both PTI and MQM. If PTI wins this election, it will prove that PTI is really a popular party who will sweep next general election because in NA-246 whoever contested in the name of MQM won. Urdu-speakers of NA-246 never voted any other candidate except MQM. Meanwhile MQM’s victory is of key importance for its survival because victory or defeat in NA-246 would decide the future of marginalized MQM.
pakistan.shafaqna.com
