The demand of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has received backing from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Faisal Karim Kundi said the elections for the provincial assemblies should be held within 90 days.
Imran Khan-led PTI dissolved the assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as part of efforts to get a date for the general elections in the country. It’s the primary demand of the PTI since the PTI chief was ousted in April last year through a vote of no-confidence, which the PTI chief termed a foreign conspiracy.
“It’s been 25 days and no date for the election has been given. Article 6 will be applied to those who postpone the elections beyond the Constitutional term,” he said in his televised address to the nation on February 6.
Khan also highlighted that his party decided to dissolve the two assemblies as the country was going through instability. “Governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were dissolved under the Constitution,” he added.
Speaking on the Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ on Thursday, Kundi seconded Khan’s demand for elections, saying, “The PPP will ask the allies to follow what is in the law and the Constitution.”
The SAPM said he disagreed that circumstances such as Benazir’s martyrdom exist in the country. It [Benazir’s martyrdom] was a colossal tragedy, he said, adding that elections were held despite this tragedy of massive proportions.
The PPP leader also raised a question about why the PTI did not conduct local body elections while they were in government in Punjab.
Kundi said that the PTI used the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for the purpose of political victimisation of opponents and political engineering. He said that the PTI lodged false cases against the leaders of political parties but was unable to provide any evidence against them before the courts during their tenure.
The SAPM asserted that the PPP leadership did not believe in any political victimisation and never used the NAB or any other institution for unleashing political vendetta against opponents.
Responding to a query about elections, Kundi said that the governor only needed to provide recommendations, while it was the duty of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce the date of the elections.
He underscored the need for elections to be conducted in accordance with the constitution. He called on the ECP to put plans in place for holding transparent elections across the country.