Karachi: Welcoming the Supreme Court verdict ordering Election Commission of Pakistan to verify voter lists in Karachi, Amir Jamaat-e-Islami JI Karachi Muhammad Hussain Mehanti Wednesday demanded of the ECP to immediately implement the SC verdict in letter and spirit.
Addressing a hurriedly called press conference after the SC decision here at Idara Noor-e-Haq, Mehanti dubbed the apex court decision as a victory of masses.” JI welcomes the verdict which has foiled the designs of “Thappa mafia”. He also demanded of the SC to constitute monitoring teams to monitor the electoral process and foil attempts to take over polling stations, holding polling staff hostage and stuffing of ballot with fake votes.
Mehanti said that the SC verdict ordering the ECP to rectify and verify the voters’ lists with the help of Army and FC personnel by going door-to-door was the victory of the people of Karachi.
Hailing the SC, the JI leaders said that once again the apex court gave a verdict as per the law, constitution and wishes of the people. The aim to transfer hundreds of thousands of voters of Karachi to other provinces and registration of about 10 lakh voters to areas of the city other than their residential areas was to stuff ballot boxes by taking over polling stations, but the nefarious designs of the Thappa mafia was foiled by the apex court through its historic verdict.
He said that the gross irregularities and tempering of voters’ lists in Karachi was at such a great scale that had no parallel.
He said that the electoral rolls were prepared in sector and unit offices of the ethnic party and an attempt was made that the lists should be prepared favourable to the MQM. He said that electoral process in the metropolis had been held hostage by MQM for the last 25 years.
Taking over polling stations, making polling staff hostage and stuffing ballot boxes with fake votes has been MQM’s old modus operandi, he added. He observed that the JI had drawn ECP’s attention towards the gross irregularities in electoral rolls many times, agitated the anomalies, organized All Parties Conferences and even presented documentary proofs and evidence to the ECP, but the ECP turned a deaf ear towards these complaints. This compelled the JI to approach the apex court which gave a historic verdict protecting and preserving the people’s rights, he added.
He said that Karachi had been braving worst law and order situation for a long time. He said that root cause of the worst unrest in Karachi was that those claiming to have the mandate of Karachi had engineered and fabricated mandate. He said that law and order situation of the city could not be improved till the electoral process in the city was not made fair, fair and transparent.
Mehanti added that the decision was a ray of hope for transparent elections in the prevailing situation in the city. He said that JI considers elections as a base of democracy and free, fair and transparent election was impossible with correct and error-free voters’ lists. An attempt on people’s democratic rights was made by transferring their votes to other areas, but the attack was foiled by the apex court, he added.