Caretaker CM assures GDA of free and fair elections

Caretaker Sindh chief minister Fazal-ur-Rehman has said that he is going to set up a complaint cell at the CM House, where all kinds of complaints, particularly in connection with the upcoming general elections, will be received and resolved accordingly.

This he said on while talking to a delegation of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), led by Senator Muzaffar Hussain Shah, at the CM House on Tuesday.

Other members of the delegation were former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, Irfanullah Khan Marwat, Sardar Abdul Raheem and Naeem-ur-Rehman.

He said that being the caretaker chief minister of the province he was impartial and his team, the government machinery and the cabinet would also be impartial. “We are here with one-point agenda that stands for paving the way for free, fair and transparent elections,” he said.

The GDA delegation expressed some reservations over different issues related to the conduct of the general elections scheduled to be held on July 25.

The caretaker chief minister assured them that all their reservations would be removed. “We are here to facilitate all of you to contest the election in a conducive atmosphere, free from all kinds of interferences and interventions and Inshallah our role would be lauded after the election,” he said.

The CM told the GDA delegation that he was setting up a complaint cell where all kinds of complaints pertaining to the elections or related to any other matter would be received and addressed.

The delegation thanked Rehman for his cooperation and support for redressing their grievances. Talking to journalists after the meeting, former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim said that the caretaker chief minister had assured the delegation that the general elections would be held in a transparent manner in the province.

He said they had no reservations or doubts regarding the good intentions of the caretaker provincial chief executives. GDA member Senator Muzaffar Hussain Shah said that the interim government being constituted in the province should comprise apolitical people who should have nothing to do with politics.

He said all political parties should have complete trust in the interim government being formed in the province. He said that the caretaker CM had assured them of his fullest cooperation in the resolution of any complaint about the conduct of the general elections and related matters. He said that as the severe water crisis had been persisting in the province, the delegation had demanded that Sindh should be declared a calamity-hit area.

A meeting of the GDA held on Monday night expressed serious concerns over media reports that certain persons were being made members of the caretaker cabinet of Sindh who could not be considered politically impartial and neutral owing to their obvious links with certain political parties.

The GDA meeting had also expressed concern over reports that a government official facing inquiries initiated by the National Accountability Bureau had been made the principal secretary to the caretaker CM. The meeting had said that the presence of such an official with a tainted service record would tarnish the credibility of the office of caretaker CM to conduct the forthcoming general elections in a free, fair, and impartial manner.

“The Grand Democratic Alliance reserves the right to protest and seek remedy at all forums and take all such steps that are necessary to ensure free, fair, and impartial elections, including the right to seek justice from the Election Commission of Pakistan, the chief justices of the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court and also the right of peaceful protests in accordance with the law,” said a formal letter sent by the GDA leaders to the caretaker CM after their meeting.

Meeting with corps commander

Corps Commander Karachi Lt-General Shahid Baig Mirza met the caretaker chief minister at the CM House for a courtesy call. Both discussed issues of mutual interest and affairs related to law and order and security affairs of the province. No formal statement was however issued by the CM House regarding the meeting. A spokesman for the CM said that it was just a courtesy call by the corps commander.