At a time when embattling President Pervez Musharraf takes the credit for free, fair and transparent elections in the country, Karachiites have many reasons not to believe him. All the political parties, including the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) failed to bring voters to the polling stations, which wore a deserted look throughout the polling day. However when results came, it seemed if all the angles gathered in Karachi and cast their votes.  Look at the result.
  Sufyan Sohail of the MQM secured 187,000 votes out of total 260,000 votes in New Karachi constituency, where almost all the polling stations presented a deserted look, and at one time not more than 30 to 40 voters were seen in a queue.  There was not more than 20 to 30 per cent voting ratio all over the country, but in Karachi, the ratio stands between 50 and 75 per cent.
   A Pulse reporting team that visited several polling stations in different constituencies felt pity for the polling agents and activists of different parties, who remained busy in chatting with each other as there were hardly any long queues of voters. But when results started to pour in, no candidate of the MQM won the elections by a margin ranging between 50,000 and 150,000. Even provincial assembly candidates turned out to be victorious by securing 100,000 votes as compared to Punjab, NWFP, and Balochistan where hardly any provincial assembly candidate secured over 50,000 votes. 
  A thorough survey of the polling process in Karachi reveals that at scores of polling stations of NA-239, 240, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 252, 253, and 256, there were either no polling agents of any other party except the MQM or the polling staff remained helpless before the workers of government-backed party giving an open-field to them to stuff the ballot boxes.  At almost 90 per cent polling stations of NA-244, 245, 246 and 247, there were only MQM's polling agents, who stuffed the ballot boxes in front of the so-called presiding officers.
   A polling agent namely Farzana Kaleem told newsmen at a polling station for NA-250 set up at Ismaeel Allahwala Primary School, Delhi Colony, that one person cast five to ten votes, but neither the presiding officer nor the law enforcement agencies took any action against them. She showed a ballot paper containing the stamp of assistant presiding officer and bearing number 35997-4 to the newsmen, which was mistakenly dropped by the persons casting bogus votes.
   At a women polling station in old Golimar area, male staff was deputed, which stuffed the ballot boxes without any hindrance.  Polling continued at Urdu Science College till late night as the armed persons seized the polling station and stuffed the ballot boxes in favour of MQM candidate Haider Abbas Rizvi.  A presiding officer, Syed Sajid Ali, deputed at Government Commerce and Arts College complained to mediapersons that the polling staff was being threatened by "unknown" persons that no voter should be checked after 4 pm.
   The reporting team saw dozens of persons wearing t-shirts with MQM's election symbol moving in and around the polling station without any hindrance. The police personnel turned a blind eye to them.  A voter namely Irfan told mediamen that he along with his family members went to cast vote at the assigned polling station for NA-253, the MQM workers took away their ID cards, and returned them after an hour. When Irfan and his family members went to cast their votes inside the polling station, it was revealed that their votes had already been cast. They should have said Thanks to the volunteers who saved them from standing in the queue and cast their votes.  The security personnel detained SHO Hyderi police station Manzar Imam for helping the MQM workers at a polling station in north nazimabad, however, he was released after being issued a "warning".
   There was a one-sided contest in central parts of the city, which are considered strongholds of the MQM, but its workers could not woo the voters to come out and vote. Announcements were made by the MQM workers from mosques and vehicles to coax the voters, however they failed.  Most polling stations remained deserted in central district too for the whole day as the press photographers had to wait for some voters to queue up to get photographed. 
  Multiple votes were cast in several polling stations of Baldia, SITE and Orangi town too, where the polling agents of rival political parties were allegedly harassed and kicked out by the MQM workers.  At Ibrahim Ali Bhai School Orangi 10, voters were being asked to cast their votes at Shaheen academy polling station too. Some voters told weekly Pulse that their votes were also registered at that polling station. A voter namely Muhammad Asghar Ali s/of Muhammad Yaqoob was registered as a voter on page number 12/20 of book number 101, whereas he was also registered as voter number 419 on page number 25/26 of the book number 704.  A visit to Anjam Colony polling station revealed that there was no ban on the movement of irrelevant persons inside the polling station.
  These persons were taking away the voting slips and ID cards from the voters, stamping them and casting.  A MQM leader, who introduced himself as Ameen Bhai, denied that his party workers had harassed or tortured any polling agent of the rival party. However, he could not explain the presence of dozens of irrelevant persons inside the polling station.  Various voters their complained that when they reached the polling station to cast their votes they came to know that their votes had already been cast.  At Ali school polling station, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, the PPP workers showed many ballot papers for NA-253 and PS-118 containing Election Commission stamp on arrow, the election symbol of the PPP.
  They claimed that these ballot papers had been thrown out by the presiding officer and the MQM polling agents after they were cast.  An independent candidate Yasir Ali caught a presiding officer, Sabir Ali Siddiqui at Jaffer Tayyar colony polling station, Malir, when he was stamping the ballot papers in favour of a party. But one should not expect any action against him.
  Two presiding officers were caught red-handed by Rangers when he was stuffing ballot boxes in last local bodies polls in Saddar and Risala polling stations. The then director-general of Sindh Rangers confirmed the arrests to the newsmen, however no inquiry or action has so far been taken against them despite the fact that the then chief election commissioner, and incumbent chief justice, Abdul Hameed Dogar, had assured them that strict action would be taken against them.   Sources in the Election Commission confirmed that polling staff was changed on the pressure of the Governor House at many polling stations.
In Hyderabad, the PPP workers clashed with security personnel, while the MQM workers, who were stamping and stuffing ballot boxes at Hali Road polling station.  Human Right Network Pakistan in its report says that the turnout in Karachi was not more than 15 per cent, but because of angels' help, the MQM candidates were coming out to be victorious with a huge margin.