If Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi is to be believed the ground is clear for all political parties and independent candidates to freely hold their electoral activities.
\nMeanwhile, Punjab Police claims it is ready with its 130,000-strong force to comprehensively secure the province in the upcoming elections. But while hope trumps experience every single time, these too-good-to-be-true statements make little mention of the struggles political leaders have braved in the recent past. By underscoring the importance of a level playing field, CM Naqvi might have added a good squeeze of lemon to the injuries of those whose nomination papers were snatched and faced arbitrary detentions and the wrath of the state machinery. Similarly, wasn\u2019t it just last week that IG Punjab Dr Usman Dar had acknowledged the shortage of at least 92,000 police personnel in the midst of security threats being issued to as many as 19 politicians?
\nThe proof of their lofty claims would lie in the pudding that we are all gearing up to eat. No qualms about that. Although it can only be hoped that these positive developments that saw the executive rise to the occasion and finally assert its true constitutional mandate: \u201cHolding free and fair elections is my prime responsibility which I will duly fulfil,\u201d CM Naqvi and his cabinet would have a hard time protecting the interests of all sides.
\nToday, when uncertainty hangs heavy in the air and the hubbub of lively rallies and door-to-door canvassing has been replaced by an eerie, meaningful silence, it has become extremely crucial to bring back the spirit of election season. Every candidate, no matter which party they belong to or what their political ideologies are should be allowed the space to make their case to the public. Whether this narrative is able to win hearts and captivate audiences should be left to their own credibility. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi is to be believed the ground is clear for all political parties and independent candidates to freely hold their electoral activities. Meanwhile, Punjab Police claims it is ready with its 130,000-strong force to comprehensively secure the province in the upcoming elections. But while hope trumps experience every single […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-382647","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorial"},"yoast_head":"\n