Pakistan: PPP accuses PML-N and JUI-F of 'conspiring together' to delay elections

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 3 : The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Tuesday accused Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) of 'conspiring together' to delay the upcoming elections set to be held on February 8 after sensing their defeat, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. The PPP said the two parties were seeking guarantees before the day of the elections.
While addressing a press conference in Bilawal House, PPP Sindh president Senator Nisar Khuhro said that elections must be held on February 8 "come what may" and cautioned that any move to cause a delay in the polls will be taken as a contempt of the apex court, which had intervened to ensure the date of polling after much uncertainty.
Nisar Khuhro warned that a delay in the polls will only weaken democracy in Pakistan and give space to terrorist groups due to the absence of a strong administration and elected representatives in Pakistan, according to Dawn report.
"It [suggestion to delay polls] has all been started by Maulana Sahib [JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman]. He is referring to deteriorating law and order as an excuse to delay the polls. We ask Maulana Sahib what guarantees he's seeking under the garb of this excuse? Let it be very clear to everyone that it's not the timely polls, but delay in the polls that would deepen the fear of terrorism in the country," Dawn quoted Nisar Khuhro as saying.
The PPP leader accused PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif of remaining silent on the suggestion of delaying the elections by maintaining that he himself did not want polls to be conducted on February 8. He said Nawaz Sharif was looking for an escape from polls as he feared about his defeat even in his stronghold, Punjab.
PPP Senator said, "And the proof is that he has not yet launched his party's election campaign in Punjab." He said, "They both want to run away from the polls. So one ally is suggesting a delay and the other is staying silent on such an anti-democracy proposal. They are well-aware that they are no more popular. The people will reject them. So the escape is the best possible solution they have found out."
PPP Sindh general secretary Waqar Mehdi raised questions over the emerging electoral alliance in Sindh, where the PML-N was aligning with the JUI-F, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) against the PPP only "to attack the Constitution," Dawn reported. He stressed that alliance in elections against the PPP was not a new phenomenon.
Waqar Mehdi said, "But this time [for Feb 8 polls] they [PML-N, MQM-P and JUI-F] are not joining hands against the PPP. They are uniting to attack the 18th Constitutional Amendment showing their real anti-democracy face."
"But these parties have already lost credibility by changing sides as they all are signatories of the same amendment made more than a decade ago and have now turned against it only for vested political interests," he added. He said that the PPP had not yet taken decision regarding the names of candidates for February 8 elections and added that it will take another few days to release the final list.
Earlier on January 1, JUI-F chairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the country's security conditions did not lend itself to a general election and added that a "few days" postponement would not be a major problem, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.
He made the remarks a day after a blatant attack at Dera Ismail Khan's Yarik Interchange attacked the JUI-F's main convoy. Fazl has emphasised that now is not the appropriate time to hold general elections and has called on the caretaker administration and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to maintain law and order.
While addressing a press conference, the JUI-F chairman said that the incident on Sunday has sparked concerns about the security situation in the nation and that he did not envisage elections taking place on February 8, according to ARY News.
"It won't be a big issue If elections are delayed for a few days," he said, noting that JUI-F's leadership had also come under attack in Waziristan and Tank.
He questioned how the JUI-F will manage the election campaign in the face of security threats, implying that if things don't get better, the election schedule would be postponed.