Ghost polling stations in NA-246, claims Ismail

Ismail said that he had also expressed his concerns over the appointment of provincial government officers for duty

KARACHI:

Ghost polling stations have been included in polling schemes to favour a political party, alleged Imran Ismail, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate for the NA-246 by-elections.

“We have identified four polling stations out of a total of 213 that are actually offices of the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation,” he claimed while speaking to the media after a meeting with the election commission secretary on Saturday. He named City College, Sirajud Daula College, Metropolitan School and Zubaida Hashwani polling stations as the ghost polling stations.

Ismail said that he had also expressed his concerns over the appointment of provincial government officers for election duty. “We demand the services of federal government employees because many Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers are posted in the Sindh government.”

On the other hand, MQM candidate Kanwar Naveed asserted that other parties were levelling allegations against the MQM because they had realised the imminence of their defeat in the polls.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2015.