Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali has written a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) chief, advising him to consult all relevant stakeholders, including political parties, before deciding a date for general elections in the province in view of the “alarming law and order situation”, it emerged on Wednesday.
The development comes two days after a powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in the Peshawar Police Lines area, killing more than 100 people, mostly police officials.
In a letter dated Jan 31, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the governor reminded the electoral body of its constitutional binding to announce an election date but expressed worry over the recent deterioration in the law and order situation.
“In view of the alarming law and order situation in the province and series of terrorist attacks during the past days, it would be advisable that before fixing a date for the general elections, the ECP should consult and take into confidence the relevant institutions/LEAs as well as political parties, to ensure that conduct of general elections in a fair, free and peaceful manner in the Province is possible,” the letter addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja said.
The KP Assembly was dissolved on Jan 18 after which Mohammad Azam Khan was sworn in as the caretaker chief minister. On Jan 25, the ECP reached out to authorities, suggesting that elections in KP be held between April 15 and 17.
A day earlier, KP Caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan dispelled the impression of delaying polls because of the current law and order situation.
Talking to the media after a visit to the Peshawar Police Lines on Tuesday, he said that the recent bomb blasts in different areas of the province had no concern with holding the elections.
“Terror incidents have been occurring in southern districts, including Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and Lakki Marwat, for a long time,” he said.
“The law and order situation has not been good in the region for the past 40 years after [Russian invasion of Afghanistan],” Khan had added.
