Law and order situation in Pakistan not bad enough to hamper polls: Caretaker Information Minister

Islamabad [Pakistan], December 8 (ANI): Pakistan Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi has said the law and order situation in the country thus far is not bad enough to hamper polls on February 8. He stressed that the federal cabinet has no “doubt, worry or second thoughts” about holding the upcoming general elections, Dawn newspaper reported.

Dawn is a Pakistani English-language newspaper.

Solangi’s statement came amid concerns raised by political party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, first over the polls coinciding with winter and then over the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) questioned the JUI-F’s reservations, with Senator Raza Rabbani saying that the country’s “internal security situation cannot be an excuse” to delay the polls.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has sought the deployment of the army and civil armed forces outside polling stations for the elections to meet the shortfall of over 277,000 police personnel across the country, as per Dawn.

Solangi while speaking to Geo News programme Geo Pakistan, said: “The federal cabinet does not have any doubt, worry or second thought that we would not hold elections on February 8.”

“As a date has been finalised now, no one should have any doubt.” He further said that all needs of the ECP were being fulfilled.

When asked if there was ever consideration of extending the current caretaker setup, the minister responded: “There definitely was such a thought, but not among us,” he said as per Dawn.

“This [thought] was the creation of those people whose minds are very resourceful; those who make such grand assumptions, and when those [assumptions] collapse, they make [up] others,” Solangi added.

The information minister said he “did not hear any such statement from anyone in the federal cabinet or important state institutions” about wanting a delay in the elections due to the economy being set on the correct course.

When asked how he would ensure that the security situation was kept under control in areas considered highly sensitive, Solangi said security issues remain during every election.

Calling the security concerns in Balochistan and KP “real issues”, the minister said the country had held elections in worse circumstances.

He stated: “Our memory is a bit weak. What was the law and order situation during the elections of 2008 and 2013? If we compare that, this is nothing.”

“Yes, I cannot say what the conditions will be like tomorrow, but the situation thus far is not bad enough to cause us problems in conducting elections,” Solangi added, according to Dawn.