BOONI: Representatives of all political parties on Sunday night approached the district returning officer of Lower Chitral seeking action against JUI-F candidate for NA-1 Talha Mahmood for using money and other resources to buy votes across Chitral.
After presenting an application to the DRO/DC Lower Chitral, PML-N candidate for NA-1 Shahzada Iftikharuddin, PPP candidate for NA-1 Fazle Rabbi, PPP candidate for PK-2 Salim Khan, JI leader Molana Jamshed Ahmed and others criticized Talha Mahmood for using money and spoiling the political atmosphere of Chitral and promoting corruption in local politics.
They said the DC Lower Chitral had promised action but complained that the DC Upper Chitral was not entertaining complaints lodged by the candidates. They said Talha Mahmood, a native of Rawalpindi and current resident of Khanpur in Khyber Pakthunkhwa, was lavishing and openly distributing cash and other resources across Chitral but action was not being taken against him by the district administration and the Election Commission of Pakistan.
They said the JUI-F candidate had also paid millions of rupees to his agents in Chitral for buying votes and his foundation had brought hundreds of trucks loaded with food items to Chitral for distribution among voters.
They said distributing food packages and other items during the election through the charity organization was against the election rules, but the government departments concerned had become a silent spectator and complicit in the illegal activity by the candidate.
Meanwhile, an application has been filed with the district monitoring officer (elections) Upper Chitral seeking action against JUI-F candidate for NA-1 Talha Mahmood for trying to influence voters through the use of resources in the name of his charity organization.
According to the application filed by PML-N leader Muhammad Pervez Lal, the district administration had earlier been approached against the JUI-F candidate for allegedly distributing cash among voters.
The complaint said that now when a few days were left for the polls, a convoy of trucks belonging to the Talha Mahmood Foundation carrying food packages and ration had reached Chitral for distribution among the voters.
By distributing food items and promising other ‘assistance’, the candidate is trying to bribe the local people and buy votes which is against the election rules. It said that if the district returning officer and the monitoring officer allowed the entry of the trucks into the limits of the district, it could create a law and order issue. Therefore, the district administration should rake action and stop the candidate from using resources as part of his election campaign.
Talha Mahmood has been fielded by the JUI-F Chitral and is being accused of other candidates of openly distributing cash among the voters. He was earlier also summoned by the Election Commission of Pakistan after a video showing him distributing cash among voters in Lower Chitral and saying he would personally check the results went viral on social media.