PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Wednesday expressed serious concern over the repeated violations of the code of conduct for upcoming local government election and demanded the Chief Election Commissioner to take notice of the situation and stop Chief Minister Mahmood Khan as well as federal and provincial ministers from visits to the 17 districts where elections would be held on December 19.
In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the JI provincial general secretary, Abdul Wasi, urged that the government functionaries should be stopped from announcing development projects and making transfers and postings in the areas where elections were scheduled to be held this month.
The JI leader said that the election commission had announced code of conduct for the election on November 1 along with the schedule for the first phase of local government polls.
Under the code of conduct, there is a ban on the visits of chief ministers, ministers, announcements of development schemes, inauguration of already approved schemes and transfers and postings of government officers.
But, the JI general secretary said, it was unfortunate that the chief minister and federal and provincial ministers have been trampling on the code of conduct repeatedly. He said that the Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur had been attending the election gatherings in Dera Ismail Khan Khan. “He has been threatening he will stop development funds of the area if the candidates of the ruling party did not emerge victorious in the elections,” he added.
Defense Minister Pervez Khattak had also been running an election campaign for his son in Nowshera and announcing development schemes there, he said, adding, the chief minister during his visit to Battagram announced creation of a new district comprising a small Alai tehsil there. “The chief minister also arranged a gathering in Peshawar recently.