Above the law: Candidates with criminal records elected in Sukkur

Of the 18 elected PPP candidates, eight are involved in criminal, corruption cases

SUKKUR:

Eight of the 18 candidates belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) who won the recent local government elections in Sukkur have criminal and corruption cases lodged against them.

In fact, one of the candidates — Ashfaq Mirani, who has been elected as chairperson of the union committee 24 of Bachal Shah Miani — is a notified criminal with Rs500,000 as head money. In fact, his photo, along with those of other similar candidates, was posted on a billboard outside A-Section police station, until a few days ago.

Wanted criminals are now elected representatives governing local bodies. Sukkur's returning officers rejected the nomination papers of several candidates who were contesting against the PPP but have apparently ignored the criminal records of some candidates belonging to the ruling party.

Some winning candidates, some of whom contested independently while others contested on PPP tickets, were arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency on charges of corruption in development works in 2014. Cases against these candidates are still pending in Hyderabad's special court.

These candidates include Tariq Chohan from UC-26, Murtaza Ghanghro from UC-19, Mir Mahar from UC-16, Wazir Mahar from UC-10, Nazar Muhammad Soomro from UC-1, Abdul Rehman UC-23 and Ali Hassan Mirani from UC-2. One candidate, Maulana Muhammad Zaman, who is the press secretary of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, contested the elections as a councillor from UC-13. Cases against him are also undergoing trial.

For his part, Sukkur SSP Tanveer Hussain Tunio said that he had sent a list of criminals to the election commission authorities well before the elections and it was their duty to bar such persons from contesting.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Sukkur's district returning officer Abid Hussain shrugged away all responsibility by blaming 'how things are done in Pakistan'. "This is Pakistan, where influential people know how to manipulate situations in their favour very well," he said.

When asked how candidates with criminal records and involvement in corruption were elected, he said no one raised any objections when the nomination papers were being filed and, therefore, they were cleared.

As a matter of fact, at the time when the nomination papers were being filed, all the candidates, irrespective of their party affiliation, wanted to jump into the arena and get elected and all of them were simply serving their own interests, he claimed.

Even Sindh chief minister's special adviser Dr Arshad Mughal admitted that there were no doubts that Mirani had a criminal record. "But all his cases were resolved out of court," he told The Express Tribune.

Three days before the polling day, PPP candidate for UC-16 Dr Nasrullah Baloch had filed an application with the election authorities against Mirani and his criminal record but the high court granted him relief, Dr Mughal pointed out. The bench said that as long as any person is not convicted by a court of law, he can contest the elections. As far as the matter of other candidates with corruption charges against them is concerned, their cases are under trial in the courts, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2015.