Putting doubts to rest, interior minister,

Islamabad_In a statement issued after a high-level meeting in the Election Commission of Pakistan on Thursday, Raja said that preparations for the elections are completed and the everything will take place as per schedule.

However, the statement also added that the Commission had expressed ‘concern’ over the recent acts of terrorism in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The CEC said that terrorism was the biggest enemy of the electoral process.

However, the CEC also expressed ‘complete confidence’ in security forces to get the elections conducted without any mishap.

Speaking to reporters after a high-level meeting in the Election Commission of Pakistan, Ejaz said the caretaker government will ensure that elections are held on time and as per the law. He added that there should be no confusion about the matter and that the elections will take place ‘come what may’.

Ejaz also said that he had visited Balochistan recently and found no political tension in the province. He added that Wednesday’s incident in Balochistan was an act of terror and had nothing to do with elections.

He added that the army was doing an ‘exemplary’ job of ensuring peace and stability across the country.

Prior to the statement, Raja chaired a meeting regarding the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in view of elections.

The meeting was attended by chief secretaries and inspector generals of both provinces as well as the interior minister and interior secretary. Representatives of intelligence agencies were also present in the meeting.

The participants of the meeting were given a detailed briefing about the prevailing situation in KP and Balochistan and any possible impace on elections.

After news of the meeting being scheduled was announced, speculation had begun that a delay in elections in the two provinces could be on the cards.

While,

Caretaker Interior Minister Dr Gohar Ejaz on Thursday said that general elections would be held on Feb 8 under any circumstances.

He expressed these views while talking to media after attending the meeting of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the deteriorating law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces.

Caretaker interior minister, Interior Secretary Aftab Durrani, intelligence officials as well as chief secretaries and police chiefs of Balochistan and KP attended the key meeting.

The meeting discussed the situation after terror attacks took place in the two provinces.

Reiterating government resolve, the interior minister said the caretaker government was determined for holding fair, free and peaceful elections in the country.

“All resources will be provided to the provincial governments for holding transparent and peaceful elections,” he said.

Earlier, addressing a consultative meeting held here at secretariat to review the overall law and order situation in Balochistan, the interior minister expressed his satisfaction over the preparations and strategy of the provincial government for holding peaceful and successful elections.

Caretaker Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs, Mir Zubair Jamali, Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakil Qadir, Additional Chief Secretary Home Balochistan, Zahird Saleem, Commissioner Quetta Hamza Shafkat and officers of the law enforcement agencies attended the meeting.

Additional Chief Secretary Home, Zahid Saleem gave a detailed briefing regarding the overall situation of law and order in the province and arrangements for holding the elections in the province. The interior minister said that caretaker government was committed to complete the election process by using all available resources and leaving no stone unturned in that regard.

The federal government was striving hard to provide the provincial governments with necessary equipments, latest gadgets and other resources to ensure safety of lives of the voters and candidates, he added.

Lauding the efforts made by the Balochistan government for maintaining peace and holding general elections 2024, the minister said provincial government had chalked out a comprehensive strategy for the successful conduct of the election process.

The minister said that elements hostile to peace would not be allowed to take the law into their hands.

Dr Gohar, said that there was a dire need for devising a long-term integrated strategy for sustainable peace in the province, adding that formation of a better strategy for maintaining law and order in the province could prevent young minds from falling into the wrong hands.

The government was taking all steps to eliminate poverty and provision of better opportunities for dignified employment for prosperity of the province, he added.

Govt fully prepared & committed to hold elections on Feb 8: Solangi

Murtaza Solangi on Thursday said that the caretaker government was fully prepared and committed to conduct general elections on February 8. He was addressing a seminar on “Challenges and Roadmap for the New Government”, organized by the Press Information Department.

 

The minister said that as the government’s spokesperson, he had been reiterating the caretaker government’s commitment for holding elections as per the schedule given by the Election Commission of Pakistan. “The election process should continue in any case and major issues facing the country, including economy, foreign policy, local governments, governance and civil service reforms, should also be discussed to find their solution,” he remarked.

Solangi said that despite many flaws in the democratic system and electoral process, everyone was in agreement that the electoral process should not be stopped and elections should be held. He said that since the formation of the caretaker cabinet on August 17, 2023, the government had been consistently reiterating its commitment that the elections would definitely be held and also on the scheduled date of February 8. The minister said that speakers in the seminar had highlighted the historical background of elections in Pakistan thoroughly. Such speeches should end the impression of restriction on the freedom of expression.

He said that some elements had been spreading rumours about delaying the elections on the pretext of security and weather issues. He recalled that there were security issues in 2008 and 2013 but the elections were held. Likewise, the 1970 elections, the first elections under the adult franchise system, were held in harsh weather in December.

Today the security and weather problems were real, but elections in the past were held despite such issues, he added. He reiterated that the 2008 and 2013 elections had security issues, while the first adult franchise polls were held on December 7, 1970 in bitterly cold weather.