- Says law and order, 18-hour-long outages, and toughest winter casting doubt on fate of polls
- Claims all parties he talked to wanted elections but demand for ‘peace and protection’
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Ghulam Ali on Sunday urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to address concerns raised by political parties regarding the February 8 general elections.
“It would be better if the election commission calls a high-level meeting of these political parties before the elections or a few days after them, and takes action after hearing their concerns,” Governor Ghulam Ali said during an interview with a private TV Channel.
Governor Ghulam Ali stated that it was the provincial government’s duty to “improve the law and order situation and protect the people”.
He said the federal government and state institutions were also responsible for the same, adding that the army had also agreed to deploy troops and provide the requisite support.
His statement comes amid reservations voiced by certain political circles on holding general elections on Feb 8, as scheduled by the election commission, due to security concerns.
On Friday, the Senate passed a resolution, moved by independent Senator Dilawar Khan with only 15 lawmakers in attendance, seeking to delay the polls due to security concerns.
However, the passage of the resolution was roundly criticised by various political parties, while the caretaker information minister had insisted that there was no directive of the prime minister or the federal cabinet for a delay. The Supreme Court was also subsequently approached to declare the resolution illegal and act against its backers.
The next day, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmed submitted a fresh resolution in the upper house, emphasising the need to ensure the timely conduct of the polls.
The KP governor mentioned the issues of “law and order, 18-hour-long load-shedding, and toughest winter”. He said the reason why people were questioning whether the polls would take place or not was that a “tempo is not being created”.
“Other areas where there is winter as well as snow — including Naran, Kalam, Swat and Chitral — people there say how will we encourage our votes to come out [and vote],” Governor Ali said, adding that there were reports forecasting snowfall in Peshawar as well.
He added that he heard these concerns and told people that the date for the polls had been officially announced now. Ali further stated that none of the parties he had talked to “wanted the elections to not take place” but their “demand was for peace and protection”.
Ali said it was his “respectful request and suggestion” to the ECP to sit with the political parties and “convince” them how it could provide them protection.
He stated that the constitutional timeframe of polls being held within 90 days of the National Assembly’s dissolution had passed “so elections should take place” but the reservations should be considered.
Fazl ‘backs’ delay in general elections
Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman extended support to a resolution adopted by Senate, seeking a delay in February 8 general elections.
Speaking to a private news channel, the JUI-F chief said that it won’t make any difference if elections were delayed in the wake of country’s security situation.
The Upper House of Parliament adopted a resolution, which was moved by independent Senator Dilawar Khan during a session with only 15 lawmakers in attendance. It sought delay in general elections in the light of extreme weather in hilly areas and the deteriorating security situation.
However, the passage of the resolution was strongly criticised by major political parties – including PPP, PML-N and PTI. Moreover, PPP and PTI served notices to their senators, Gurdeep Singh and Bahramand Tangi, who remained abstained from voting.
Extending support to the resolution, Fazlur Rehman said that it reflects the party’s stance as the election environment wasn’t visible, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan amid terror attacks.
The politician, time by time, had expressed grave concern over the peace and security situation in the country after his party came under attack thrice in the last six months.
“The authorities should realize the seriousness of the situation and an environment should be made so that we can conduct our election campaign easily,” he added. However, he said, if the elections are held on time, the JUI-F will participate and won’t not run away.
