RAHIM YAR KHAN-Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) candidate in PP-256 Khawaja Asghar Koreja has withdrawn from the race as a protest against PML-N district and divisional leadership.
Koreja said in a video message from his hometown Shedani Shareef that now he would support PPP candidate Qazi Ahmed Saeed. He said that he had been associated with PML-N for the last 40 years. He said in honour of Nawaz Sharif, he got the ticket but when PML -N announced its support for Hamid Saeed Kazmi in NA-175, Kazmi took an independent candidate Nazeer Khan Chandia in PP-256.
Similarly, he showed his reservations in the constituency of PP-255, and said that Kazmi is supporting independent candidate Malik Azeem Bukhsh Naich in the constituency. Koreja further said that many candidates of PML-N including Sheikh Fayyazud Din of NA-176, Islam Aslam of PP-257 and Nawaz Khan Rind of PP- 259 were running campaign against him.
He alleged that Islam Aslam was demanding votes for Nazeer Chandia in his public gatherings and when he (Koreja) informed PML-N divisional coordinator Saud Majeed of the whole situation in Bajawalpur, he did not listen to him. So he decided to quit the election race to save his respect.
Public irked as buses
impounded for elections
Police impounded buses with passengers aboard and luggage in the ground of Khawaja Fareed Government Postgraduate College for election duty. Many passengers protested at the college road against the police for forcibly taking them in the yard of impounded vehicles. The passengers said that they were traveling from Bahawalpur to Karachi when police intercepted their bus (LET 7955). A passenger said that he was going to Multan with his family but the police took them with other passengers to the ground.
Some passengers complained that they were traveling for Multan when police took almost 39 passengers with their luggage and now they are helpless to continue their journey.
Regional Transport Authority Secretary Rayasat Ali said that 1,500 buses were required for election duty from July 21 to July 26 in the district. He said that he was negotiating with the transporters in Sadiqabad to get their buses for election duty.
He said that all the owners of impounded buses will be facilitated with daily allowance and fuel. Police were impounding vehicles parked at different floor mills or other points to pick and drop the voters on polling day, he added. When contacted, PRO to DPO Zeeshan Randhawa turned his mobile busy.