Parting shot: Hours before polling, PPP censures ECP
Party leadership laments the absence of a level playing field for some left-wing parties.
A party leader can be disqualified for using the chief justice’s photo for political purposes, says Barrister Masood Kausar. PHOTO: PPI
ISLAMABAD:
Hours before the polling, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) called the election commission’s role into question, saying polls could not be free and fair as the PPP and some other left-wing parties had faced a restrictive environment owing to security threats.
Addressing a news conference on Friday, the central leader of PPP, Barrister Masood Kausar, flanked by other party leaders, said that PPP’s mandate was always stolen in the past but this time non-state actors were targeting the party. He added that the Awami National Party (ANP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were also victims of the environment of fear.
“Few parties are campaigning, while others are restricted,” lamented Kausar.
The PPP leadership, along with that of ANP and MQM, has regularly decried the absence of a level-playing field following attacks on the election offices and candidates of these parties. In an earlier news conference, the ANP had also lashed out at the Election Commission of Pakistan, saying that it was not doing the needful to provide security to parties under threat.
Moreover, Kausar complained that since he relinquished his post as the governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, all security was withdrawn from him.
CJP and Nawaz
Barrister Kausar also spoke out against chief justice of Pakistan’s photo in Daily Jang with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.
A petition was filed on May 9 before the Lahore High Court seeking a ban on PML-N president Mian Nawaz Sharif and directing him to stop advertisements which projected the impression the chief justice of Pakistan and the judiciary are supporting him in the May 11 election.
Advocate Aftab Ahmad Sheikh through PPP secretary general Latif Khosa Advocate has filed the petition and made Election Commission of Pakistan, Pemra, Editor of Daily Jang and Mian Nawaz Sharif as respondents.
At the conference, Kausar said that a party leader can be disqualified for using the chief justice’s photo for political purposes.
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was also due to speak at the press conference but due to his busy schedule in his constituency he could not mange it, said Barrister Kausar.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2013.
Hours before the polling, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) called the election commission’s role into question, saying polls could not be free and fair as the PPP and some other left-wing parties had faced a restrictive environment owing to security threats.
Addressing a news conference on Friday, the central leader of PPP, Barrister Masood Kausar, flanked by other party leaders, said that PPP’s mandate was always stolen in the past but this time non-state actors were targeting the party. He added that the Awami National Party (ANP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were also victims of the environment of fear.
“Few parties are campaigning, while others are restricted,” lamented Kausar.
The PPP leadership, along with that of ANP and MQM, has regularly decried the absence of a level-playing field following attacks on the election offices and candidates of these parties. In an earlier news conference, the ANP had also lashed out at the Election Commission of Pakistan, saying that it was not doing the needful to provide security to parties under threat.
Moreover, Kausar complained that since he relinquished his post as the governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, all security was withdrawn from him.
CJP and Nawaz
Barrister Kausar also spoke out against chief justice of Pakistan’s photo in Daily Jang with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.
A petition was filed on May 9 before the Lahore High Court seeking a ban on PML-N president Mian Nawaz Sharif and directing him to stop advertisements which projected the impression the chief justice of Pakistan and the judiciary are supporting him in the May 11 election.
Advocate Aftab Ahmad Sheikh through PPP secretary general Latif Khosa Advocate has filed the petition and made Election Commission of Pakistan, Pemra, Editor of Daily Jang and Mian Nawaz Sharif as respondents.
At the conference, Kausar said that a party leader can be disqualified for using the chief justice’s photo for political purposes.
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was also due to speak at the press conference but due to his busy schedule in his constituency he could not mange it, said Barrister Kausar.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2013.