Ready to hold polls but favourable atmosphere needed: KP governor

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ghulam Ali on Thursday said he wanted to hold elections in the province in 70 to 90 days but a conducive atmosphere was required to complete the exercise in a peaceful manner.

“We are ready to hold elections in 70 to 90 days. And an all-parties conference should be convened immediately to decide the election date in consultation with the relevant institutions,” he told a press conference at the Chief Minister’s House in the presence of caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan.

”I had written a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan but it was interpreted in a different way,” the governor said, adding that it would be appropriate to announce the date for the election after consulting all stakeholders.

He said that during a meeting with the tribal elders, he came to know that the situation in the tribal districts was not up to the mark, but only one party was unable to understand the gravity of the situation.

The governor claimed the PTI leadership was insisting on an election date despite the gruesome incident of the Peshawar Police Lines blast.

He lamented that no one from the PTI attended the funerals of the martyrs.

APP adds: The governor said that Imran Khan was accusing him of delaying the elections but clarified that he had asked the Election meeting with the tribal elders, he came to know that the situation in the tribal districts was not up to the mark, but only one party was unable to understand the gravity of the situation.

The governor claimed the PTI leadership was insisting on an election date despite the gruesome incident of the Peshawar Police Lines blast.

He lamented that no one from the PTI attended the funerals of the martyrs.

APP adds: The governor said that Imran Khan was accusing him of delaying the elections but clarified that he had asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold the elections and suggested consultations for it.

Ghulam Ali said that from 2018 to 2022, there were 465 terrorist attacks, the districts in which these attacks took place included Peshawar, Mardan, Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu.

He criticised the PTI chief over his politics and said that when he and his party members had resigned from the assembly, how could they now protest against the approval of resignations?

The governor said the elections would not be postponed, reminding that six mayors of his party had won the election at the time when the PTI was in power.

He explained that the people of merged districts wanted seat allocation on the basis of census and the representatives of local government were demanding funds and offices.

He held Imran Khan and former KP CM Mahmood Khan responsible for the issues and problems of the merged districts. The governor questioned where the PTI government spent 471 billion rupees that were given by the federal government for security and peace in the merged districts. Also why were the police stations established in rented buildings?