F.P. Report
KARACHI: The Karachi police on Tuesday arrested and then expelled Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh from Malir for violating code of conduct during voting for the by-election.
The Malir police detained Haleem Adil Sheikh on the orders of the Election Commission, which said Haleem Adil Sheikh visited polling stations, exchanged hot words with police and refused to leave the Malir constituency.
Later, the Election Commission order the police to expel Haleem from the Malir constituency.
He was taken to SSP Malir Buhadar Khan’s office first and then was expelled from the area. The police also arrested four of his armed security guards.
An application was also formally moved by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) as the PTI leader along with his armed supporters were on the streets patrolling the polling stations during voting for by-election on PS-88 Malir on Tuesday.
In another development, the District Returning Officer (DRO) ordered the police to expel all the MPA present in the Malir area.
The PS-88 Malir seat had fallen vacant on June 2, 2020, after the death of minister for human settlement Ghulam Murtaza Baloch, who had contracted coronavirus. Baloch emerged victorious in 2018 general election after bagging 22,000 votes.
PTI’s Muhammad Rizwan Khan was the runner up with 16,386 votes. This time a tough competition is expected between PPP, PTI, and MQM.
PPP has given its ticket to Baloch’s son Yousuf Murtaza Baloch, while Jan Sher Junejo is contesting on PTI’s ticket. Former MNA Sajid Ahmed is MQM’s candidate for the by-election.
According to the ECP, a total of 145,627 voters have been registered in the constituency.
At least 108 polling stations have been set up. Thirty-six polling stations have been declared “sensitive”, while 33 “highly sensitive”.
