Despite reiterated directives from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and explicit orders from the judiciary, it appears that the executive remains reluctant to ensure an equitable-playing field for candidates of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the forthcoming general elections scheduled for Feb 8.

Persistent grievances continue regarding the heavy-handed conduct of law enforcement agencies, particularly the police force. The PTI candidates, who encountered challenging circumstances while submitting their nomination papers last week, now lament instances of the abduction of their consuls, proposers, and seconders during the scrutiny phase.

On Tuesday, former state minister and prominent PTI leader Zartaj Gul Wazir voiced her complaint, asserting that law enforcement agencies had previously issued threats and subsequently abducted her lawyer from NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan. Currently, her proposer and seconder have been apprehended from the Returning Officer’s (RO) Office.

In a video statement shared on social media, Zartaj highlighted that both her proposer and seconder are females hailing from respectable families, yet they were arrested without just cause at the RO Office. Expressing dismay at the treatment of PTI women by state machinery, she questioned how she would address the families of those who are facing incarceration for supporting her nomination.

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Zartaj pointed out that FIRs have been filed against proposers and seconders of the PTI’s provincial assembly candidate from PP-288.

Despite being lawyers, they were barred from entering the RO Office on false charges. The Dera Ghazi Khan RO Office, she noted, has been heavily fortified with a police presence to hinder the entry of PTI candidates and their supporters, leading to arrests.

She appealed to the ECP, chief justice of Pakistan, and high courts to take cognisance of the situation, asserting that officials on election duty were under siege by law enforcement agencies.

Zartaj questioned the possibility of free, fair, and transparent elections if PTI candidates, their proposers, and seconders were being arrested.

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Emphasising that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) appears apprehensive about the elections, she accused them of employing state machinery to exclude the PTI from the electoral contest.

She challenged the PML-N to face the PTI in the election field without resorting to tactics such as abducting candidates and their representatives.

Zartaj concluded by issuing a challenge to the PML-N, asserting that she had previously won with a lead of 37,000 votes and was now prepared to secure a lead of 137,000 votes.

Similar grievances were expressed by several other PTI candidates, yet there is no clear stance from the state machinery regarding the reported heavy-handed actions against PTI candidates.