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Ridiculous questions by returning officers is creating doubts about elections: Altaf Hussain


Ridiculous questions by returning officers is creating doubts about elections: Altaf Hussain
 Posted on: 4/5/2013 1
The Founder and Leader of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) has said ridiculous questions being asked by the Returning Officers is giving rise to doubts in the minds of the people whether elections would be held at all. He expressed strong reservations on the manner in which scrutiny of nomination papers was being done.
Mr Hussain said it was for the first time that a democratic government had completed its constitutional term and the entire world was looking at Pakistan. He said that the Election Commission had every right to hold the scrutiny of the nomination forms of candidates but regretted that it was not being done in a serious manner.
He said that the Returning Officers were asking questions of personal nature and peeping into the private lives of candidates which were highly inappropriate. He said that even women were not being spared. “Do they want to discourage women from taking part in elections?”
He suggested that political parties should form a committee consisting of people having adequate knowledge of Islamic history and jurisprudence in order to check the knowledge of the returning officers about Islam.
He said it was unfortunate that the nomination form a prominent columnist was rejected on the basis of his articles about the ideology of Pakistan. “The Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Parliament should expound the real meaning of the ideology of Pakistan as it was very vague and not clearly defined anywhere.”
He asked what the ideology of Pakistan really was and who had given it. He asked if the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had himself written somewhere or spoken about the ideology of Pakistan or not?
Mr Hussain said that every Muslim believes that sovereignty belongs to Allah alone and Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) is the last and the final Prophet of Allah. “The candidate whose papers have been rejected on the basis of his critical articles also believes in the sovereignty of Allah and the finality of the Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).”
Mr Hussain said that justice and equality should be the basic ingredients of the ideology of Pakistan. “No one should be allowed to usurp rights of others and there should be no discrimination on any basis. This should be the real ideology of Pakistan.”
He asked if some people in the country wanted to impose draconian laws disallowing difference of opinion. “Do they want to impose their views on others? If someone raises academic questions about the ideology of Pakistan, people can disagree with him but it would be illegal and unconstitutional to reject his nomination paper on this basis. It would amount to deprive the electorate of their inalienable democratic right to choose their representative.”
Mr Hussain said that Islam is the greatest religion but it was being confined by people having myopic views. “The door of Ijtihad opened by Islam for reconciling conflicting issues was being closed.”
Speaking about the issue of dual nationality Mr Hussain said that parliamentarians having dual nationality had voluntarily tendered their resignations in deference to the judgment of the Supreme Court. He said that they should not be asked to face cases in courts.
Speaking about redrawing of several electoral constituencies in Karachi, Mr Hussain said it was unconstitutional, undemocratic and pure gerrymandering. “Why Karachi is being singled out? Is Karachi a colony that decisions were being taken about it in an arbitrary manner?”
Speaking about the presence of Taliban in Karachi Mr Hussain said that he was ridiculed when he had warned about the dangers of Talibanization in Karachi. He said that it was now an established fact that Taliban had taken over several areas in Karachi and they were even holding a parallel judicial system to exert themselves.
Mr Hussain said that a handful of criminals were holding the people of Lyari hostage. Two years ago Urdu-speaking people were killed by these criminals in a barbaric manner after verifying their identities. Their bodies were cut into pieces and videos were also released of the horrific act. Nothing was done despite the fact that we had sent those videos to judges of the superior judiciary.
In response to a question about delaying elections for completing the scrutiny of nomination forms thoroughly, Mr Hussain said that there was no harm in extending elections by some days. He made it clear that it was not a demand from the MQM as its preparations were complete.
When asked if elections could be held in present circumstances as the law and order situation in the country was precarious, Mr Hussain said if elections could be held in Afghanistan and Iraq during war, they could be held in Pakistan also. He said that Rangers and Police should demolish Taliban dens in Karachi so that voters could exercise their right without any fear.
4/30/2025 4:23:17 PM