Opposition wants elections under Army supervision in Karachi
07 March, 2013
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| ISLAMABAD: Representative of Election Commission of Pakistan meeting with leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, Liaquat Baloch at the entrance of ECP’s office |
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ISLAMABAD: Opposition parties have demanded that elections in should be held under the auspices of Army, immediate resignation of Governor Ishrat-al-Abad, and enlisting voters over their temporary residences.
Presenting the demands to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) upon its arrival at Islamabad via Lahore through Karachi's Train March, JI secretary general Liaqat Baloch said that elections under the supervision of Army could be free, fair and transparent.
Among other demands, the opposition delegation, which included Sindh nationalist elements, also apprised ECP of its reservations, while it also demanded that the virtual opposition of Sindh Assembly should be granted its legal status, and opposition leader should be appointed from amongst that very virtual opposition.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said if the government considers necessary, it will seek army's help for general elections and if terrorism is not controlled then holding of polls will be impossible.
Talking to the media outside the parliament here on Wednesday, he said that the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) threatened that they would not let polls be held in the country. He also asked the Punjab government that why it keeps a soft corner for banned LeJ.
He said peace prevails in the entire country and Balochistan is moving towards tranquillity. He told the journalists that his name was proposed for the caretaker chief minister of Sindh, but he refused to accept the offer as he is the sitting interior minister.
Reacting to a report published in a section of the press that a house in Ministers' Colony was allotted to him, he said that all the houses in the colony are in possession of the government department. Neither any house was allotted to any minister nor the homes belong to any private owner. The government arranges residence for ministers and when they quit the job, they also leave the state house. "I would move the court against those elements that are spreading misperceptions," he added.
He said that he never called the name of Nawaz Sharif regarding relations with LeJ, but he always talks about Malik Ishaq. "I want to remind Nawaz that order was given to register FIR against him in Asghar Khan case. How he is talking about the honest leadership. I challenge him to come on TV with me, I would prove everything even the case lying pending in National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against him," he added and said Nawaz took oath in the premises of Holy Kabba that he had not struck any deal with Pervaiz Musharraf. The Punjab government should tell the nation that why they were not arresting the terrorists behind the Quetta carnage.
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