Terming the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) engineered and biased, Pakistan People’s Party leader Nasir Ali Shah on Tuesday announced to boycott the upcoming polls.
Talking to Pakistan Today, the former National Assembly member from Quetta expressed his anger over claims that were introduced by the ECP for holding free and fair polls, saying, “No free and fair polls can be organised by incumbent ECP.”
Shah, who has lashed at his own party for its failure to curb Shia killing in Balochistan and boycotted NA sessions in the past, expressed his dissatisfaction over PPP policies.
The former PPP lawmaker maintained that he was announcing boycott of the upcoming elections fearing that the ECP was not playing its role honestly and was favouring PPP led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Shah said that the neutrality of the ECP became doubtful and suspicious after it rejected the nomination papers of Nahid Khan and assigned electoral symbol of sword to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s faction.
“I witnessed that the papers filed by Nahid Khan were complete and were submitted in due date, that are now declared incomplete by the ECP, who is giving open favour to PPP led by Bilawal,” Shah said.
He disclosed that he gave Rs 0.4 million to former Punjab governor Latif Khosa in 2006 to supervise a case of a prisoner, however despite receiving the money Khosa did not appear on a single hearing.
Shah also said the Bilawal-led PPP had not held intra-party polls, but the ECP still permitted it to contest the upcoming polls. If that is the case, how can the ECP hold free and fair polls ahead?
He said he filed an application on March 15 in the ECP in which he mentioned security concerns to him and his voters in Quetta but the ECP put aside the application.
“The present Election Commission of Pakistan is planted, non-neutral and is favouring the PPP and Zardari and those who consider Justice (r) Fakhruddin as an honest person will come to know that Fakhru Bhai is stigma in the name of honesty,” Shah said further.