MIRPUR (AJK)
Alleging massive rigging in by-elections to AJK Legislative Assembly LA-22, former AJK prime minister and Muslim Conference Chief Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan on Tuesday demanded a high level commission to probe the rigging and killing of a People’s party activist in a protest against the rigging in Baloch Town a day after the election.
Addressing a press conference at the resident of former city Mayor Ch Muhammad Ashraf, Sardar Attique accused the AJK PML-N leadership especially Kashmir Affairs Minister Ch Barjees Tahir of manoeuvring rigging in the election to facilitate their party’s candidate.
It is to be noted that Sardar Farooq Tahir of the PML-N was declared victorious against his nearest rival PPP Fahim Akhter Rabbani with a margin of 4,676 votes.
The MC chief was flanked by the party leader leaders including Ch Muhammad Ashraf, Haji Zulfiqar Ahmed, Abdul Qayyum Qamar and others.
The MC President demanded immediate registration of a murder case against the Federal Kashmir Affairs Minister and other PML-N leaders for the killing of a local PSF President Muhammad Muzammal in the police firing on protesting activists in Baloch Town on Monday.
Attique also emphatically demanded AJK CEC Justice Munir Ahmed Chaudhry to immediately nullify the result of by-election in view of the rigging allegations on the part of the PML-N.
The former AJK PM declared that there was no justification of summoning paramilitary force Rangers on the pretext of maintaining peace. He charged the Rangers with involvement in rigging by getting the polling stations freed of the local police and civil administration. He pointed out that even the Commissioner and DIG Police of Poonch division had to save their respect and dignity by skipping off their duties by immediately moving back to their offices following undue alleged intervention by the Rangers.
To a question, Sardar Attique said that the AJK EC was bound to get the formal due prior permission for summoning the Rangers troops in the town. He said that the sitting AJK government was passing through very embracing situation following the continued insulting attitude from the ruling quarters in Islamabad. Insult of AJK government, he declared could not be tolerated at any cost.
Sardar Attique further said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had bulldozed the authority of AJK government by resorting to undue intervention during the by-polls to LA-22. He warned that the Muslim Conference could lead to street agitation across the state if its demands were not immediately met by the government of Pakistan. “We want to maintain and safeguard the respect and honour of the AJK government irrespective of the political differences”, he declared.
He also condemned the killing of a Pakistani prisoner Shoukat Ali in Amphala jail in Jammu city of Indian held Kashmir. He demanded that the foreign office of Pakistan should immediately lodge a strong protest by summoning the Indian High Commission to Islamabad over the brutal killing.