JUP announces boycott of Feb.18 Pak polls

Karachi, Feb.14 : The radical Jamiat Ulema Pakistan (JUP) today announced that it would be boycotting the general elections to be held on February 18.

Party chief Shah Anas Noorani accused Election Commission of Pakistan and the caretaker government of favouring JUP rivals, which therefore, necessitated a boycott call.

A JUP spokesman said on Thursday that the party decided to boycott the polls 10 days ago, and Shah Anas Noorani was only reiterating it on Thursday.

The spokesman said that their party's decision has no any link with All Parties Democratic Alliances (APDM) stand of boycotting polls.

He said that the JUP was taking the step after the Election Commission of Pakistan failed to respond to its repeated complaints about the tearing its election banners, posters and the harassment of its workers by rival factions.

The caretaker government's support to the Mutahidda Qaumi Movement and the Pakistan Muslim League-Q was also questioned.

JUP spokesman said that after elections, the party would rejoin APDM and Mutahidda Majlis Amal movement against the ruling establishment.

The JUP had 70 candidates in all across the country, of which 17 in Karachi, seven in Hyderabad and others in interior Sindh and Punjab.

ANI