MMA candidate alleges rigging

KARACHI: The candidate of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal in the by-election on NA-242, Dr Mairajul Huda Siddiqui, charged the rival Muttahida Qaumi Movement with manipulation of the entire government machinery to win Wednesday’s contest.

Addressing a press conference late Wednesday night, at Jamaat-e-Islami headquarters Idara-e-Noor-e-Haq, Mr Siddiqui said polling time had been extended for 90 minutes under the pressure of MQM ministers, which heavily influenced the result. He charged MQM with injuring five MMA activists in shootings and kidnapping eleven others. He said that despite the returning officer’s refusal to extend the polling time, two MQM ministers, Mohammad Hussain and Abdur Rauf Siddiqui, pressured the polling staff to extend it by 90 minutes, during which the MQM “stole the show.” —Staff Report

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