PS-53’s slap: PPP likely to favour same family for Waheeda’s replacement

Waheeda Shah blames media for being thrown out, plans to challenge court decision.

KARACHI:

Now that Waheeda Shah Bukhari has been disqualified, there are three possible Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidates who could fight for the Tando Mohammad Khan seat. Party sources say preference will be given to a relative of her late husband, MPA Mohsin Shah Bukhari.

His widow Waheeda Shah won the by-election on February 25, but was thrown out by the Election Commission for slapping polling staff.

“The party will either allot the seat to Eijaz Shah Bukhari, the first cousin of Mohsin Shah, who is also vice-president of the district, or nominate Syed Qasim Shah, the son of federal minister Naveed Qamar or Haji Amin Lakho, the party president in TM Khan,” sources said.

The by-election will be rescheduled by Tuesday but as Waheeda Shah has said that she plans to challenge her disqualification in court, Provincial Election Commissioner Sono Khan Baloch told The Express Tribune that they could wait if a stay order is passed.

The PPP plans to stage a big rally and public gathering today (Sunday) with party leaders calling for a referendum in Waheeda’s favour. “The strong reaction prevails among the local people against EC’s decision. PPP MPA from Tando Muhammad Khan, Mohammad Nawaz Chandio, told The Express Tribune that this was the first time such punishment had been handed down even though polling agents have been beaten, kidnapped by opposition parties. “I say the election commission’s decision is against the mandate of 30,000 voters who have elected their candidate,” he said.

He gave the example of PPP MNA Azra Pechuho, who is also the sister of President Asif Ali Zardari. She survived a deadly attack at the time of the by-polls in Jamshoro during General Pervez Musharraf’s regime. Similarly, PPP MPA Sassui Palijo and other party leaders were beaten when former prime minister Shaukat Aziz was contesting the election from Tharparkar. “No action was taken against the people,” he said.

Waheeda Shah blames the media. “It seems that the media has the influence to make decisions in this country,” she remarked. “I will only say that the ground realities are totally different from what media has exaggerated,” she said to The Express Tribune over the phone on Saturday. “I will go to court to challenge the Election Commission’s decision, which is unfair and unilateral.”

She said that she accepted that it was her fault but that she had apologised for her “unintentional” mistake and the victims had forgiven her, but the media had not. “I do not know what kind of revenge the media is taking by overstating the reports,” she said.

The Election Commission has withheld the result of polling, declared her ineligible for two years, fined her and cancelled the result. “This is punishment for only one slap, which went on air, giving the impression that I was continuously torturing the election staff,” she said.

She said that she would be filing a petition soon and was consulting her legal team. She claims that she was misguided that there was some rigging going on at the polling station that day. “My fault was that I could not recognise the polling staff, who was sitting without badges,” she said.

The party choices may be:

Eijaz Shah Bukhari, the first cousin of Mohsin Shah

Syed Qasim Shah, the son of minister Naveed Qamar

Haji Amin Lakho, the party president in TM Khan

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2012.