KARACHI, Aug 20: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) said on Tuesday that its two candidates contesting by-election in Karachi, scheduled for Thursday (Aug 22), were being threatened.
However, he ruled out the possibility of a boycott of the by-poll ‘under any circumstances’.
“Our candidates for NA-254 (Karachi XVI) and PS-103 (Karachi XV) have received threats of dire consequences from the workers of a political party,” said Sindh PTI president Nadir Akmal Leghari at a press conference held at the Karachi Press Club. He was accompanied by the two candidates, Naeem Shaikh and Sultan Ahmed.
Without giving any name, Mr Leghari accused a certain political party of snatching the identity cards of voters in the two constituencies.
He claimed that certain poll officials were being harassed, saying that “there are presiding officers who are openly biased; they belong to one political party contesting the by-election”.
Mr Leghari said the government should have appointed presiding officers from outside the city to ensure a level-playing field for all parties.
He said the PTI had conveyed its concerns to the authorities concerned and demanded that the armed forces be deployed in and outside the polling stations.
“We will not boycott the election,” he said. “It is not our culture to surrender. Instead, we call upon people to come out and vote for honest people who are sincere about serving them.”
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