PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Monday said that the security situation in the province didn’t favour the holding of election to the provincial assembly and the Supreme Court shared his opinion.

“The apex court understands that the law and order situation in KP is not conducive to election,” the governor told reporters at the provincial headquarters of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) here.

Mr Ali also said that he was grateful to the Supreme Court for being “lenient” with KP regarding elections.

The governor along with members of the provincial caretaker cabinet visited the JUI-F’s provincial headquarters to condole the death of federal minister for religious affairs Mufti Abdul Shakoor, who was killed in a road accident in Islamabad on Saturday.

Ghulam Ali terms dialogue key to vote date issue

Mr Ali said that there was no ambiguity regarding the holding of elections within 90 days of the assembly’s dissolution but it was his job to announce the poll date.

He claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf led by former prime minister Imran Khan didn’t push for elections in KP as it did for Punjab polls.

The governor said that no matter what the PTI said in public meetings and media, it was “100 per cent sure” about its inability to campaign for elections.

He said that the security situation in South Waziristan, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Bajaur and other districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was precarious as not a single day passed without the martyrdom of the law-enforcement personnel.

Mr Ali said that authorities had shared all reports about elections in the province with both the Election Commission of Pakistan as well as the Supreme Court.

He, however, said that Pakistan’s future hinged on democracy and the upholding of the Constitution.

The governor claimed that even PTI lawmakers approached him with the request to hold the national and provincial assembly polls simultaneously.

“I told them [PTI legislators] to tell the same to their party chief [Imran Khan],” he said.

Mr Ali, however, said that the difference of opinion among political parties and other stakeholders about poll date could be resolved by dialogue.

“I had requested the country’s president that he and I should sit together to announce election dates for Punjab and KP provinces, but he [president] announced the poll schedule for Punjab that is changing every week,” he said.

The governor said that the president and the governor only shared their respective opinions with the ECP and courts in light of the information provided by the relevant agencies.

He said that the JUI-F opined that election to the provincial assemblies should be held with the National Assembly polls.

“We want the national and provincial elections to happen the same date,” he said.

Mr Ali said that the steering committee on merged tribal districts met two days ago and decided about the release of Rs19 billion development funds for the tribal region.

He said that those funds would help address the grievances of the people of tribal districts regarding the spending of the region’s funds in settled districts of the province.

About the reports of imminent military operation in the province, Mr Ali said that he didn’t think that the armed forces were going for an offensive against terrorists.

He, however, said the decision on any such action would be taken in light of the “available information.”

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2023