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After Punjab, KP Governor Also Seeks Delay to Poll Date

In letter, Haji Ghulam Ali reiterates security concerns, advises for polls in province to be held on Oct. 8

by Staff Report

File photo of KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Friday wrote yet another letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)—his fourth—proposing that polls in the province be held on Oct. 8, the same day as polls in Punjab, “in the larger public interest.”

On Wednesday, the ECP withdraw an earlier notification announcing polls in Punjab on April 30, citing security threats and financial difficulties. In its order, the electoral body said it could not ensure free and fair polls in the prevailing circumstances and fixed Oct. 8 as the date for polls, roughly 8 months after the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has vowed to contest the decision in the Supreme Court, which had earlier ruled that elections in both Punjab and KP should be held within 90 days of their assemblies’ dissolution, but allowed for the “barest minimum” deviation from the constitutional deadline.

In his letter, the KP governor reiterated his concerns with the security situation of the province, noting that several militant attacks—cross-border firing in North Waziristan; an IED blast targeting an Army vehicle in Kohat; a gun-battle with terrorists in South Waziristan—had occurred in recent weeks. He also referred to a terrorist attack took on a police station in Dera Ismail Khan, as well as the March 21 martyrdom of ISI Brig. Mustafa Kamal Barki after his convoy was ambushed in South Waziristan. In light of the deteriorating security situation, he said, the ECP should fix polls in the province on Oct. 8, the same date as polls for Punjab, “in the larger public interest.”

Referring to the apex court’s ruling, Ali claimed it would be fully implemented, but noted that free, fair and peaceful polls should be ensured. He also referred to protests from residents of erstwhile tribal districts, who have been demanding that polls in KP only take place after the announcement of new census results so their representation could be ensured. He noted that the security situation in KP was “far different” from that of Punjab, echoing an earlier letter in which he had claimed militants had formed a “shadow government” in the province and would hamper electoral campaign efforts

“I have shared my opinion with the ECP and the rest is ECP’s job,” he said, noting that the electoral body was a constitutional body.

Most legal experts believe the ECP’s order is a violation of the Constitution, but some have opined that it is within its constitutional mandate to fix an election schedule in accordance with ground realities. The federal government has largely endorsed the delay in polls, maintaining that it would prove its stance in court if the ECP’s order were challenged.

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