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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday filed a complaint against Karachi province Mayor Murtaza Wahab and the Sindh governor and asked the poll conducting authority to "temporarily remove" them from their offices to ensure free, fair, and impartial elections, Dawn News reported.
This comes a day after the Election Commission of Pakistan issued a notice to Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab for violating its code of conduct. As per the Pakistan-based news daily, PTI Karachi president Khurrum Sher Zaman, who is also contesting the February 8 elections from NA-241, accused the mayor and Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori of indulging in activities tantamount to a violation of the ECP's code of conduct. In a formal complaint sent to the provincial election commissioner, the PTI leader contended that both the governor and mayor were engaging in activities that violate the code of conduct of the ECP, undermining the principles of a fair and impartial electoral process. In light of these serious allegations, Sher Zaman called upon the ECP to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the matter, Dawn News reported. He also urged the commission to take immediate action, including the "temporary removal" of the mayor of Karachi and the governor of Sindh from their offices until the investigation was concluded. "Furthermore, it is requested that the offices of Mayor Karachi and Governor Sindh be sealed to prevent any further misuse of their positions for political gains until the conclusion of the electoral process on February 8," he urged. He asked the ECP to ensure a level playing field for all political parties and take immediate and decisive action to investigate these allegations thoroughly. "Upholding the principles of democracy is paramount to him," he said, adding that any violation of the ECP code of conduct must be addressed promptly to ensure a fair and transparent electoral process. On his part, Mayor Wahab filed his reply to the ECP in response to the notice he received on Friday. Taking notice of his press conference, Joint Election Commissioner Ali Asghar Sial issued the mayor a show cause notice asking him to clarify his position as his media talk was an attempt to influence the results of the February 8 elections. However, Mayor Wahab stated in his reply that the press conference was not meant to violate any set rule as it was solely focused on public issues. "The January 26 press conference was about public issues. I never took part in any election campaign and have been following the set code of conduct in line with the true spirit of the Constitution of Pakistan. I assure the ECP that I am not part of any candidate's election campaign nor I would do that [during the ongoing electioneering]," he added. (ANI)
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