Caretaker Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz Thursday put to rest all the doubts regarding any delay in the upcoming general elections, saying that the poll would be held on February 8 under any circumstances. The security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces created concerns regarding the conduct of elections. “Elections will be held on February 8, no one should have any confusion on this,” the interim minister told the journalists after the electoral body’s meeting. He said that the election commission will ensure the conduct of the polls on the designated date come what may. With a deteriorating law and order situation just days ahead of the general elections, a key meeting took place at the ECP today, with caretaker interior minister, Interior Secretary Aftab Durrani, intelligence officials as well as chief secretaries and police chiefs of Balochistan and KP in attendance. The meeting had discussions focusing on the situation in the two provinces. Attacks on political rallies, offices and candidates, alongside terror incidents, have seen a surge, particularly in the two restive provinces, for the last few weeks. During the meeting, the electoral authority was given a briefing on the state of law and order in the two provinces by the officials. In the wake of the murder of Rehan Zeb Khan — an independent candidate contesting for National Assembly seat from Bajaur, NA-8 — the ECP directed the provincial chief secretary and inspector general of police to submit a comprehensive report of the incident, an official said. Zeb, a PTI youth activist, was gunned down by unidentified armed assailants, who opened fire on him in his hometown Bajaur on Wednesday. According to media and monitoring teams’ reports, taking notice of the incidents of firing on a convoy of a political party in Qila Abdullah district of Balochistan in which one person was killed and a grenade attack outside the house of a candidate of PB-25 constituency in Kech district, the ECP has sought immediate reports from the chief secretary and IG Balochistan. It directed for immediate action to be taken against those involved. Meanwhile, the ECP also took notice of the bomb attack at the election office of a political party in Quetta and sought an immediate report from the Balochistan chief secretary and inspector general of police. It also directed for taking action against the culprits under the election laws.
Elections to take place on Feb 8 no matter what happens, says interior minister
