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ECP pledges to hold general elections by mid-Feb

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  • ANP, BNP and BAP hold consultative meetings with ECP.
  • ECP assures of squeezing timelines of delimitation.
  • Election schedule is expected to be issued soon.

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday dispelled speculations surrounding the upcoming general elections, assuring the Awami National Party (ANP) that polls would be held by mid-February at the most or by January end if the delimitation of constituencies is completed earlier.

The statement came after ANP, Balochistan National Party (BNP) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) held separate consultative meetings with the ECP officials on the roadmap to general election.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja chaired the meetings, which were attended by the commission members, the secretary and senior ECP officers.

The ANP delegation was led by its Secretary General Mian Iftikhar Hussain, comprising central spokesperson Zahid Khan, Khushdil Khan, Advocate, and Abdul Rahim Wazir, Advocate.

On behalf of the BAP, Naseebullah, Manzoor Kakar, Noor Muhammad Domar, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran appeared and BNP was represented by Abdul Karim Noshrawani, Sana Jamali and Danesh Kumar.

The commission, ANP leaders said, assured them of squeezing the timelines of delimitation to the maximum possible extent. The commission also assured them elections would not go beyond mid-February.

According to a statement released by the commission, the ANP team insisted on the date and schedule for the electoral exercise, if conducting the election within 90 days was not feasible. They briefed the election commission that the election should be held within 90 days as per the Constitution and that the ECP should have consulted political parties before initiating delimitation, as the commission could not reduce or increase the seats given in the provinces given under the Constitution. Therefore, there was no need for new delimitation.

The ECP, they said, could only accommodate seats within the province and that the commission was a constitutional body and they had full faith in it.

Therefore, the delimitation decision taken by the commission must have been taken after due deliberation. Therefore, now the date and schedule for elections should also be announced so that political parties and people could be satisfied.

The CEC said that according to the schedule issued by the commission, the delimitation work was to be completed within 120 days on December 14, 2023. The election schedule would be announced soon after. It is also possible that the election schedule will be announced in the next few days after reducing the duration of the constituency.

The BAP delegation supported the ECP decision to carry out delimitation and members of the delegation said that because the results of the census had been published, not going for delimitation as per the new census would be an insult to political parties, candidates and the public. The BAP expressed full confidence in the ECP and also expressed confidence in several decisions taken by it in the past.

BNP representative Agha Hassan Baloch said the ECP should try to hold elections within 90 days. He noted the new census appeared to be faulty, in which the population of Balochistan had been reduced. “Therefore, our party believes that there is no use of new delimitation. If the election commission believes that delimitation is necessary, then the process should be corrected,” he said.

The CEC assured the delegations that the commission would ensure immediate elections after reducing the duration of delimitation.

Talking to media persons outside the ECP, Mian Iftikhar said the electoral body had assured completing the delimitation of constituencies on fast track to enable it to hold general election not later than mid-February.

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In the Toshakhana case, the PTI founder contests the NAB notification.

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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was asked to set aside the NAB notice in a plea submitted by Imran Khan’s representatives, Salman Safdar, Usman Riaz, and Khalid Yousaf, according to the information.

Regarding the Toshakhana issue, NAB Rawalpindi called the PTI founder, who is detained, and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, on April 16.

Bushra Bibi, the former first lady of Pakistan, and Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were the subject of a new investigation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) yesterday.

In a letter to the deputy superintendent of Adiala Jail and call-up notices to Imran and Bushra, the anti-graft body also asked for their attendance during the research.

Case of Toshakhana
In the Toshakhana case, an Accountability Court (AC) on January 31 imposed a 14-year prison sentence on the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and his spouse, Bushra Bibi.

AC Judge Muhammad Bashir delivered the decision. For ten years, the founder of PTI and his spouse were likewise prohibited from holding any public office.

A Rs. 787 million fine was also imposed by the judge.

Prior to this, in connection with the cipher case, Khan and his foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi received 10-year prison sentences under the Official Secrets Act.

In a case concerning their marriage during the latter’s Iddat period, they were each given seven years in prison one day later.

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US Ambassador Donald Blome praises Maryam’s portrayal of the Chief Minister of Punjab.

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According to information, Maryam Nawaz was congratulated by the US envoy on being the first female Chief Minister of Punjab during their meeting.

America’s goal to deepen economic relations with Pakistan, especially in the areas of manufacturing, IT, and agriculture, was conveyed by Ambassador Bloom. Maryam’s people-oriented efforts and initiatives were commended by him, who called them “commendable”.

The ambassador received assurances from Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz that Punjab will offer a safe haven for US investment. She emphasised that a stable administration is essential to guiding Pakistan out of its economic crisis and welcomed US engagement in a number of areas.

The Chief Minister also emphasised how her government’s economic initiatives had reduced inflation.

That Maryam Nawaz and Donald Bloome are meeting for the second time is worth mentioning. It was before to her election as Punjab’s Chief Minister that the first meeting was held.

At Maryam Nawaz’s home in Murree, Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Donald Blome, the US Ambassador to Pakistan, had a meeting.

They talked on the value of cooperation in a number of sectors, including as commerce, the economy, security, peace, and regional stability, according to the details.

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Sheikh Rashid claims he doesn’t communicate with the PTI’s founder or any other leader.

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Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the president of the Pakistan Awami Muslim League and former interior minister, claims not to be in contact with the founder or any other leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

In an interview with media outside the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, he said that only Shibli Faraz was qualified to discuss talks between the PTI and the Establishment.

Regarding the deputy prime minister position, he stated that Pakistan’s constitution did not contain such a clause. He chided that “only the Jati Umra constitution offers the slot of deputy prime minister.”

He predicted that Pakistan would have an economic crisis within the next two months. “Industrialists are already facing tough conditions and now growers are up in arms,” he claimed.

He claimed that the purchasing of wheat had not yet started and that the general public’s financial situation was appalling.

The former federal minister reaffirmed that prisoners should be released from custody if they are innocent and unrelated to crimes.

He requested that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) be made aware of the wheat scam right now.

The following two months would be critical for Pakistani politics, thus he asked the administration to reconsider its policy.

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