(MENAFN- Tribal News Network) March 17, 2023facebook twitter whatsapp linkedin email
Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Haji Ghulam Ali, takes a u-turn on the announcement of the poll date for the provincial assembly, by writing a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the elections.
In a detailed letter, Governor Haji Ghulam Ali advised ECP not to hold provincial elections justifying various reasons including law and order, while the governor also mentioned the lack of a uniform environment for political campaigns for all political parties in the province.
Pointing to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, he alleged that the militants were targeting all political parties except one particular party that brought them back to the province in the name of reconciliation.
A few days ago, the Governor announced may 28 as the date for polls in KP, but now he has advised the Commission not to hold the elections.
In the letter, the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has mentioned in detail the current law and order situation in the province.
He wrote that the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially in the newly merged tribal districts is very unsatisfactory while dozens of banned organizations including TTP are active in the province and there is a shadow government of terrorists.
As per the letter, terrorism has increased many times during the last few months with terrorists mostly targeting security personnel, as a result of which 130 policemen have been martyred and 283 injured in various attacks during the last five months.
The governor revealed that the TTP is also involved in extortion in the province and has extorted Rs 1.6 billion from businessmen and others in 2022 alone.
In the letter, the details given by the IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the Election Commission also mentioned that there is currently a shortage of 56,500 police personnel in the province, while an additional 1,500 FC personnel are needed to protect politicians in case of elections.
The letter further read that it is necessary, this shortage and necessity of security forces during the election campaign and elections can be met only by the deployment of the Pakistan Army, while it is not possible to do so at present due to the disturbed law and order situation in the province.
The Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also described the economic conditions of the country and the province as unfavorable for immediate elections.
He has said that we all are well aware of the economic situation of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province also owes Rs1 thousand billion to the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. Apart from this, the province is also suffering from an economic crisis in relation to the integration of tribal areas, the federal government is also not giving any financial support as promised for the merger.
The letter also mentions census and constituencies. The governor, pointing to a constitutional flaw, said that if the provincial assembly elections are held within three months, they will be held in the old constituencies, while the by-elections and the national assembly elections will be held in new constituencies if necessary. The new delimitations to be conducted after the census will be based on what appears to be a constitutional quagmire.
Apart from this, objections have also been raised by people from many districts including Waziristan, Kurram, and Orakzai over the old constituencies.
In the letter, the governor has also pointed to the technical issue that if elections are held before the National Assembly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab and new governments are formed, there is a fear that those governments will influence the elections of the National Assembly.
Election Commission should hold all provincial and national assembly elections on the same day, suggested the governor in the letter.
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