Caretaker setup to remain till election: CM

NOWSHERA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan on Saturday said that the caretaker government would remain in office until the next election was held.

Talking to reporters here, he said that the May 14 matter pertained to the holding of the elections in Punjab while KP had nothing to do with it.

The caretaker chief minister visited Manki Sharif in the Nowshera district to offer his condolences to former defence minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf senior leader Pervez Khattak on the death of his wife, who passed away recently in Lahore.

Azam Khan said that it was the prerogative of the governor to give a date to the Election Commission of Pakistan for holding the polls in the province. He said that so far no decision had been taken to hold the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that the Election Commission of Pakistan and the KP governor had been informed about the poor law and order and fresh wave of militancy in the province as well as the shortage of the law-enforcement personnel for the election duty.

Azam Khan said that though the provincial caretaker government had received briefings from the sensitive agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau about the law and order, it was prepared to hold the election if additional army troops, police and FC personnel were made available for the security of the election.

He said the mandate of the caretaker government was to hold free and fair elections. “We will use all available resources to hold free and fair elections in the province,” he added.

Azam Khan said though the price-hike was a global phenomenon, they were taking various steps to minimize its effects. “The coronavirus had affected the global economy and the government was trying to revive the economy,” he added.