Daily Times

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar during a press conference on Saturday, alleged that efforts were being made to keep residents of Karachi from voting in the upcoming General Election 2018.

Addressing the media in Karachi, the politician claimed that the recently conducted population census in the metropolis and Hyderabad was fraudulent.

The MQM-P leader also said that authorities have continued to arrest his party’s workers, adding that raids are also yet to stop. “We are concerned about the atmosphere of fear that has been created for workers,” said Sattar.

“We want to know why are these unjustified arrests being made? Why are raids being contacted?” he questioned.

The MQM-P leader, who recently set aside difference with the Bahadurabad group to contest elections under the same election symbol of kite, alleged that the party’s workers and voters were unable to ‘freely participate’ in the election process.

“Karachi’s population was listed as less than half of the actual number in the census result,” he lamented. “The arrests of our workers are indicators of pre-poll rigging,” Sattar claimed.

Sattar further added that it seemed like a few political parties were ‘favourites.’ “You will only see banners of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other parties in Karachi. Our banners have been removed from different parts of the city,” he said.

Responding to a question about the recent verdict of an accountability court that handed out fines and prison sentences to deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members in the Avenfield Properties corruption reference, Sattar said that it was regrettable for the political community that leaders of parties were being declared guilty by the court. “Whatever is the allegation, legal proceedings were made in the Panama Leaks case on the instructions of the Supreme Court,” Sattar opined.

He further added that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law and court was a system that, despite promises by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was not amended in the past five years.

“Nawaz had promised he would made ammendments to the NAB law but he did nothing in the past five years,” said Sattar.

He further said that all cases should be based on justice. He said that the Supreme Court’s decision to disqualify anyone should be accepted. He reiterated that cases against individuals should be initiated on the basis of proper evidence.

Published in Daily Times, July 8^th 2018.