The election fever has yet to grip the province in spite of the fact that the general elections are just around the corner. This is in contrast to the electioneering that is taking place in other parts of the country. In Balochistan where on one hand the national parties have boycotted the elections the All Parties Democratic Movement is pursuing its election boycott campaign. To add to this severe weather conditions in the province too has made people to migrate to other parts of the country. All these factors seem to significantly reduce the voter turnout in the elections.

Lately an election boycott rally was staged in the hometown of APDM leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai. In his address Mehmood Achakzai categorically stated that the APDM would completely boycott the ‘fraud elections’. He appealed the masses that they must not go to the polling stations and in this manner give their verdict against what he called unconstitutional and illegal rulers of the country.
The APDM leader said that political parties are formed to serve the masses. He alleged that the imposition of emergency was to send the judges packing as the government feared that the superior judiciary might decide against the presidential elections.

Mehmood Achakzai deplored the fact that more than sixty of the judges of the superior courts were under house arrests. He was of the view that when the judges are under arrest than how comes one expect of fair and transparent polls.

The opposition leader saluted all those judges who have refused to take oath under the controversial Provisional Constitution Order (PCO).

He said that the government proclaimed emergency giving rising terrorism and extremism as a pretext. Achakzai maintained that on May 12 in Karachi workers of political parties were openly shot at. He alleged the government for the incident.

The opposition leader vowed to campaign against the holding of polls from the APDM’s platform.
The boycott rally was also addressed by central leader APDM and chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed. Qazi Hussain Ahmed congratulated the people of Pishin for the grand rally. He said that Islam teaches us to deal with people in a just manner.

He said that the constitution of 1973 stressed justice and equality, supremacy of the parliament and independent judiciary, and that the country will be run according to the federal parliamentary system and it granted provincial autonomy. The JI chief said that the constitution stressed justice at the economic level and that Pakistan would be a welfare state. He said that the constitution guaranteed independent media and freedom of speech. Qazi Hussain said that there is no Pakistan without Balochistan.

He also condemned the bomb blast in Charsadda on the Eid day.

Central President National Party Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch in his address lauded the people of the area for turning up in large numbers for the election boycott rally.

He condemned the operation in Balochistan and the arrest of Sardar Akhtar Mengal and many other political workers.

Caretaker President BNP Dr Jahanzeb Jamaldini said, “When we demand our rights operations are launched against us.”

He said that there is a marked difference between the prices of gas extracted from Balochistan and that from other provinces. Dr Jahanzeb said that the government makes towering claims of development but the people on the other hand continue to suffer.

On the other hand in the run up to the elections 873 polling stations have been declared more sensitive and 1,169 sensitive in Balochistan. The areas that have been declared sensitive include Dera Bugti, Sui, Kohlu, Qila Abdullah, Khuzdar.

Acts of violence have been reported in Dera Bugti where an election convoy of PML-Q candidate Tariq Masoori was hit with a remote controlled bomb. The action left two cousins of the candidate dead. One of the guards also sustained injuries in the incident.

Similarly, in Khuzdar a painter was also shot dead when he was wall chalking for BNP-Awami. General public would continue to feel insecure going to polls if proper security arrangements are not made.