NA-231 recount turns violent as masked men burn ballot sack in Karachi

KARACHI: The process of vote recount for the port city's NA-231 (Malir-III) constituency saw violence unfold as masked men burned a sack of ballot papers and stole another at the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) regional office in Saddar.

Workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) placed the blame for the incident on each other after the situation took a violent turn.

The incident, therefore, triggered commotion at the electoral body's regional office.

The ECP has ordered the recount of four polling stations of the National Assembly constituency at the regional election commission office.

The commission's direction came after an election tribunal of the Sindh High Court had directed the provincial election commissioner to examine and recount all the ballots cast at four polling stations — PS 65, 71, 98, and 175 — of NA-231.

The order came on an election petition filed by Khalid Mehmood Ali, a candidate backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), against the election results of NA-231, where the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Abdul Hakeem Baloch was declared the returned candidate.

The commission's personnel, following the violence, began removing the burnt material from the site of the incident.

The South senior superintendent of police (SSP) has said that action will be taken against the elements involved in the attack. "The stolen goods will also be recovered," he added.

Regional Election Commissioner Imtiaz Kalhoro and Election Commission Officer Mushtaq briefed journalists regarding the matter in the wake of the violence that left Naib Qasid Zubair injured.

"We were about to start the recount process on the court order," he said, speaking with journalists, adding that there was a sudden attack.

The official, Mushtaq, maintained that the ECP officials are trying to save lives owing to the lack of security following the incident.

"Such an attack took place despite police security," he said, highlighting that a letter was written for summoning Rangers, but they were not deployed for the recount.

Zubiar, who was injured in the violence, said that he was in the ECP office when suddenly the masked men entered and attacked.

Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, speaking with journalists about the incident, said the regional election commission's issues are a result of the weakness and incompetence of the ECP.

"The election commission did not demand security from the chief secretary even in the meeting," he said, adding that this is an internal problem of the ECP, as they counted the votes at the wrong place.

In the wake of the violence, the regional election commission has sent a report of the incident to the ECP and Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar.

Lanjar said that the report sent by the election authority is being reviewed.

"Security should have been sought from the Rangers or the Home Department," he said, stating that no arrests have been made in regard to the incident and that a case will be registered against unknown persons.

"It is not known whether the attackers were PTI or PPP people," said Lanjar.

As per a report from the police, unidentified armed masked men attacked the office at 11am during the recount. The armed men, it added, broke the gate and forced their way into the regional election commission office.

They entered the committee room of the regional election commission and damaged office property, the report revealed, adding that the armed men forcibly took polling bags from four polling stations.

The unidentified gunmen, it stated, set polling bags on fire in front of the office, despite heavy police deployment and mobile units present at the site during the recount.

The report added that the masked men attacked the office despite the presence of police.

"Immediate action should be taken regarding the incident and a case should be registered," the report stated.