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Pakistan cannot afford separate provincial and national elections, as it will cost the exchequer an exorbitant amount amidst an economic crunch, Punjab Government Balighur Rehman said on Monday.
Speaking with journalists after a meeting with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali and caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, his remarks bolstered the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s repeated claims that the federal government is planning to delay polls in the provinces beyond the 90 days’ constitutional requirement after their dissolution.
“As the general elections are going to take place later this year, demand for an early election in two provinces seems out of place keeping in view economic woes of the country,” added Rehman. Both the KP and Punjab governors have already refused to issue dates for polls, with Ali urging the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to consult with stakeholders, including security agencies, and Rehman maintaining that as he did not dissolve the Punjab Assembly, he is not required to issue any date for polls in the province.
The governors’ views appeared to match the prevailing sentiment in the federal government, with Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar telling journalists that there was no need to enact new legislation if polls were delayed in Punjab and KP beyond the constitutionally mandated 90 days. However, he stressed, the relevant institutions would have to provide “solid reasons” for any delay in this regard.
While representatives of the ruling coalition have repeatedly asserted they are ready to proceed to polls, it is now an open secret that they are unwilling to hold separate elections and would prefer to have polls in Punjab and KP take place at the same time as general elections, due for October or November. Constitutionally, polls in Punjab and KP must take place in mid-April as both assemblies were dissolved in mid-January.