‘There were always election deaths in Khairpur but killing in 2015 LB polls was highest’

SUKKUR: It may be mentioned here that in the general election of 2008 in Khairpur, three people were killed and 10 were injured.
In the October 2012 election, as many as six people were killed when armed men resorted to firing on an election gathering of PPPP. But in the 2015 local bodies election in Khairpur, 12 people were killed.
According to security analysts, the incident of killings of 12 persons is due to the negligence of the Khairpur administration and poor security measures, although there were alerts about clashes.
Analysts say Khairpur is a politically rich district; there are PML-F chief Pir Pagara, PPP Sindh Chapter chief Syed Qaim Ali Shah and PML leader Syed Ghaus Ali Shah.
Therefore, there was a need for tight security measures, which were not witnessed in the local bodies election. Security experts said Khairpur was divided into six security zones where senior police officials, including SSP Fida Husain Mastoi, SSP Amjad Sheikh, SSP Zahid Husain Shah, SSP Abdul Salaam Sheikh and SP Thar Mirwah Hasan and Sardar Ahmad, were posted.