Almost free and fair: Law enforcers stand out as clear winners

Except few troubled spots, polls most peaceful in Karachi's history

KARACHI:

On Saturday, Karachi wore the look of a garrison. The heavy deployment of law enforcers in every area of the metropolis presented an ominous picture. The idea was, however, to boost the voters' confidence and ensure free and fair elections.

Judging by the history of elections in the city, the local government polls on Saturday were by far the most peaceful. This observation would likely be negated by the breaking news on channels throughout the day, which seemed to suggest that all hell had broken loose.

The reality was, however, far from this. The deployment of over 42,000 law enforcers in the city seemed to have done the trick and, apart from a few minor skirmishes in around a dozen areas, the overall polling process was peaceful.



The worst affected was Landhi, where activists of two rival political parties attacked each other's camps several times during the day, despite the presence of the highest number of law enforcement personnel. Besides Landhi, minor skirmishes were reported in over a dozen areas, including Korangi, Lyari, Lines Area, Abul Hasan Isphahani Road, Keamari, Banaras Colony and Gulzar-e-Hijri.

MQM versus MQM-H

The workers of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Muhajir Qaumi Movement - Haqiqi (MQM-H) clashed on several occasions in Landhi as multiple election camps of the MQM came under attack and motorcycles were torched. The former's election camps were soon removed from the area while the pictures of leaders of both the parties were also taken down. Panic also spread to other parts of the city, including Korangi and Lines Area, where both the parties enjoy strong support.

The parties' activists engaged in heated disputes on several occasions, some of which resulted into violence involving the use of batons, sticks and iron rods. Over a dozen workers sustained minor injuries. The only serious casualty was that of Adnan Sharif, an MQM-H worker, who sustained a bullet wound and was admitted to Jinnah hospital.

Enforcing the law

The law enforcers baton-charged the overly-charged workers of various parties in a bid to disperse them whenever a situation developed in these tense areas. They did not, however, arrest anyone for creating a law and order situation.  Rangers DG Major General Bilal Akbar and Sindh IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali visited various localities to review the law and order situation. "It is every citizen's right to contest the elections and cast their vote," said IG Jamali. "The overall law and order situation has been quite stable. I myself visited the troubled areas," he added.



Fake polling staff

The law enforcers apprehended at least 15 suspects for casting fake votes and impersonating polling staff. However, the Rangers and police confirmed the arrests of only seven persons.

The Rangers spokesperson said that they arrested three 'fake' polling staff, including a man posing as a presiding officer, from Parsi School, Nishtar Park. They include, Ashraf Abbas, who was arrested for possessing a fake presiding officer's card; Muhammad Hassan, arrested from Regent Plaza for possessing a fake assisting presiding officer's card and Shah Zaman, an MQM worker of Unit 51, PIB Sector. "Rangers personnel, using their magisterial powers, have awarded three-month imprisonment to these impersonators," said the spokesperson.

Besides, the Rangers personnel arrested eight suspects affiliated with different political parties. Among these were Muhammad Arshad and Abdul Majid of the MQM who were arrested for attempting to snatch ballot papers and stamp from a presiding officer at the Kuwait School in Landhi. They were sentenced to jail for one month by the Rangers.

The spokesperson added that they have also arrested an assistant presiding officer, Muhammad Zubair, from UC-5, Pak Colony, for casting votes for citizens, instead of allowing them to stamp the ballot papers inside the polling booth. "He has been sent to jail for 14 days," the spokesperson said.

Separately, the police also arrested three 'fake' polling staff in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. The arrests were made from UC-27 at Kids Junior University.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2015.