By Abbas Kassar
Hyderabad: The much trumpeted elections held in Pakistan Thursday proved to be bloody and full of violence and rigging as more than 25 people were killed in various incidents of bomb blasts and targeted firing and in all more than 100 killed in 3 days. In Karachi a terrorist group Muehida Qaumi Movement made polling staff hostage since last night along with election material due to which at more than 7 national and 14 provincial assembly seats polling staff and ballot papers did not reach by 2 pm though voters had assembled by 8 morning but returned disappointed without casting votes. The armed terrorists filled ballot boxes with the stolen ballots. The voters of opponent parties especially Jamat Islami, Jamiat Ulema Pakistan (Noorani) and other parties boycotted elections in Karachi and Hyderabad two urban cities of Sndh which have remained under control of MQM terrorists since long. Syed Munawar Hassan Amir Jamat Islami, Sahebzada Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair president JUP called elections as fraud and announced its boycott. Taj Hyder secretary Pakistan Peoples Party, Nihal Hashmi of Muslim League and others said they would not accept results of elections. Chief Election Commissioner Pakistan Justice (rtd) Fakhruddin Ibrahim called Corps Commander Karachi and complained that election material was stolen and staff kidnapped in Karachi but the army did not provide safety to them. Secretary ECP Ishtiaq Ahmed observed that instead of rigging infested elections it was better not to hold it.
In Karachi and Hyderabad citizens were crying against poll rigging but no security was provided to polling stations. In Nawabshah the home town of president Zardari MQM terrorists burnt the camp office of Pakistan Peoples as police everywhere was watching as silent spectators. Even in some polling stations women presiding officers and political parties election agents were kidnapped.
In Balochistan Jamhoori Watan Party of late Nawab Akbar Bugti also boycotted elections while 7 party national alliance of Balochistan had already boycotted elections and had given call of strike on polling day My 11. Allama Tahirul Qadri chief of Pakistan Awami Tehrik has already boycotted elections and his party had stages sit in on polling day as a protest alleging that election commission and caretaker government were biased. Pakistan Tehrik Insaf chairman Imran Khan whose party is giving tough time to Muslim League and PPP in Punjab and Khyber Pukhtoonkha has accused MQM of vote rigging and has said that it has exposed itself as terrorist organization. Whatever the results but one thing was sure that elections in Pakistan have never been fair and transparent and once again it has proved that this nation is not made for democracy.
[Abbas Kassaris Bureau Chief of daily Messenger of Karachi and writes stories on human rights violations in Pakistan for Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong. He is member of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, European Journalism Center and Writers International Group. He can be reached at kassarabbas@lycos.com, kassarabbas@gmail.com and can also be contacted at +92 3453585137]
Hyderabad: The much trumpeted elections held in Pakistan Thursday proved to be bloody and full of violence and rigging as more than 25 people were killed in various incidents of bomb blasts and targeted firing and in all more than 100 killed in 3 days. In Karachi a terrorist group Muehida Qaumi Movement made polling staff hostage since last night along with election material due to which at more than 7 national and 14 provincial assembly seats polling staff and ballot papers did not reach by 2 pm though voters had assembled by 8 morning but returned disappointed without casting votes. The armed terrorists filled ballot boxes with the stolen ballots. The voters of opponent parties especially Jamat Islami, Jamiat Ulema Pakistan (Noorani) and other parties boycotted elections in Karachi and Hyderabad two urban cities of Sndh which have remained under control of MQM terrorists since long. Syed Munawar Hassan Amir Jamat Islami, Sahebzada Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair president JUP called elections as fraud and announced its boycott. Taj Hyder secretary Pakistan Peoples Party, Nihal Hashmi of Muslim League and others said they would not accept results of elections. Chief Election Commissioner Pakistan Justice (rtd) Fakhruddin Ibrahim called Corps Commander Karachi and complained that election material was stolen and staff kidnapped in Karachi but the army did not provide safety to them. Secretary ECP Ishtiaq Ahmed observed that instead of rigging infested elections it was better not to hold it.
In Karachi and Hyderabad citizens were crying against poll rigging but no security was provided to polling stations. In Nawabshah the home town of president Zardari MQM terrorists burnt the camp office of Pakistan Peoples as police everywhere was watching as silent spectators. Even in some polling stations women presiding officers and political parties election agents were kidnapped.
In Balochistan Jamhoori Watan Party of late Nawab Akbar Bugti also boycotted elections while 7 party national alliance of Balochistan had already boycotted elections and had given call of strike on polling day My 11. Allama Tahirul Qadri chief of Pakistan Awami Tehrik has already boycotted elections and his party had stages sit in on polling day as a protest alleging that election commission and caretaker government were biased. Pakistan Tehrik Insaf chairman Imran Khan whose party is giving tough time to Muslim League and PPP in Punjab and Khyber Pukhtoonkha has accused MQM of vote rigging and has said that it has exposed itself as terrorist organization. Whatever the results but one thing was sure that elections in Pakistan have never been fair and transparent and once again it has proved that this nation is not made for democracy.
[Abbas Kassaris Bureau Chief of daily Messenger of Karachi and writes stories on human rights violations in Pakistan for Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong. He is member of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, European Journalism Center and Writers International Group. He can be reached at kassarabbas@lycos.com, kassarabbas@gmail.com and can also be contacted at +92 3453585137]