At least 10 opposition parties on Saturday gathered under the umbrella of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) to form an electoral alliance in Sindh and give a tough time to the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Dubbing the role of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as suspicious after its recent nod to pre-poll hiring at public institutions, the joint opposition demanded of the government to announce the date for general elections and bring an impartial interim setup without delay.
The allied parties also demanded the removal of provincial governors whose presence, they claimed, would put to question the transparency of the upcoming polls. They also demanded of the ECP to ensure that the electoral rolls were prepared under the supervision of Pakistan Army, whose personnel must be deployed at every polling station during election. The Supreme Court-backed delimitation of electoral boundaries in Karachi was another demand made by the opposition parties.
The parties joining hands on Saturday included the PML-F, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (PST), Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP), National People’s Party (NPP), Sindh United Party (SUP), Sindh Tarraqi Pasand Party (STPP) and the Awami Tehreek (AT).