ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will hold an important meeting today (Tuesday) to decide the fate of general elections of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies.
The election process in both provinces is facing difficulties, even though the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in a separate 3-2 decision a few days ago, demanded that the general elections be held on schedule with a delay of at least a few days. Review of technical reasons
In today’s meeting, the arrangements for the elections to be held in Punjab on April 30 will be reviewed. Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi, Chief Secretary Punjab and Inspector General Police (IGP) and others will participate in the meeting. He is expected to focus mainly on the law and order situation in the province and the threat of terrorism.
Another important meeting will look at the possibility of availability of armed forces for election duties. Representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Directorate General of Military Operations (DGMO) will participate in the meeting, in which the deployment of the army for the upcoming general elections in both provinces will be discussed. Intelligence agencies had already advised the ECP in their briefing last week to postpone the elections by three to four months, saying that the time is not suitable for such an election process at present.
Last week, the ECP invited Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Haji Ghulam Ali for final consultations to fix the date for the provincial assembly elections, as the first round of consultations between him and the commission’s team failed to yield results. Interestingly, according to a senior ECP official, the governor has not yet confirmed his attendance at the meeting and this may mean that he will stay away from the scheduled meeting at the Election Commission Secretariat.
One of these meetings is with Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Haji Ghulam Ali to consult on the date of KP Assembly elections. Meanwhile, the ECP considered the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s plea regarding the implementation of Article 144 in its meeting in Lahore on Monday and wrote to the Punjab Chief Secretary for a factual report on the matter.
According to the media coordination and outreach wing of the ECP, the ECP considered a related application filed by senior party leader Babar Awan on behalf of PTI Chairman Imran Khan a day ago.
The ECP has decided to seek a fact-based report from the provincial government of Punjab and in this regard a letter has been issued to the Chief Secretary stating that the ECP is constitutionally bound to conduct transparent and peaceful elections. .
Therefore, the ECP said that keeping in view the text of PTI’s request, a comprehensive report should be shared with the ECP by tomorrow (Tuesday) so that it can be placed before the ECP and further action taken. should be considered.
PTI has challenged the implementation of Section 144 in Lahore and alleged that the caretaker provincial government took this step only to prevent the election rally.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission will resume hearing the contempt case against ECP and Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on March 14. Last week, it issued bailable arrest warrants for Imran and Fawad Chaudhry in contempt of court cases against the Chief Election Commissioner. had done However, these two PTI leaders have been suspended by the Lahore High Court.
Last year, the ECP had issued contempt notices to Imran, Fawad and Asad for using unethical, unparliamentary and insulting remarks against the ECP, while Imran and Fawad were booked separately for insulting the Chief Election Commissioner. Separate notices were issued. Charges
In another development, the ECP has delisted a case scheduled for hearing on March 14 regarding the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) intra-party election, for which its Chief Minister Notices have been issued to Azam Shahbaz Sharif and Secretary General Ahsan. Iqbal. According to the cause list issued for the day, no reason was given for delisting the case, which was ordered by the authority.
