No doubt about polls on February 8: Pakistan caretaker PM
Dec 21, 2023
Islamabad [Pakistan], December 22 : Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Thursday said there should be no doubt about polls on February 8 as the election process had started with the candidates filing their nomination papers and the political parties busy in building narratives to attract voters, ARY News reported.
ARY News is a Pakistani news channel.
In an interview with a private television channel, he said it was a constitutional requirement to hold elections, which would be held on February 8, after which a newly elected government would be formed.
Responding to a question, he said the government would provide security to political leaders, including the three-time prime ministers Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maryam Nawaz, Imran Khan, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and others.
Prominent political leaders could be targeted and the government would be blamed for any lapse in their security, he continued.
"It is the responsibility of the government to provide security to political leaders and voters in Pakistan." He said the caretaker government would fulfil its responsibility during the holding of elections.
It would be illegal to stop the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from taking part in the elections, PM Kakar said and clarified that there was no policy to stop the PTI from organising public meetings, as per ARY News.
On election day, the candidates of PTI would be in the field and the voters would be voting for them, he commented. He said those who were involved in the incidents of May 9 were facing the law of the land. He was of the view that those involved in the May 9 incidents should not be public officeholders.
Kakar said the Election Commission should look into complaints made by political parties about maladministration.
To a question, he said overall political circumstances triggered the actions against the PTI and lessons were learned by the state.
He said, "It is not our job to tell overseas Pakistanis which political party they should support."
However, the people should vote for a party that has an agenda for the economic revival of Pakistan, he opined. "I will vote for a party that has an agenda to revive the economy," he asserted.
He further said that there was a wave of terrorism in the country and that there were forces that wanted to cause disruption in Pakistan and the government would make all efforts to protect the lives of people, as per ARY News.
