Failure of party leaders in election can create problems: CM

PESHAWAR: Caretaker Chief Minister, retired Justice Dost Muhammad Khan said on Monday that failure of top leadership of various political parties in the election is dangerous for the country as they can create problems by challenging the government outside the Parliament.

“The top leaders of political parties should be in the Parliament to play their role in strengthening the federation and democratic system,” he said in his address to the Peshawar Bar Association after inaugurating a new digital library.

About allegations of rigging in the July 25 general election, he said the mandate and duty of the caretaker government was to facilitate conduct of peaceful election till 6pm and whatever happened after the polling was the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan. “I established three control rooms and monitored the election along with other high-ups,” Dost Muhammad Khan said. He said the Election Tribunal was empowered under the law to conduct inquiries into the alleged rigging in the election.

About the use of government resources and expenses of the Chief Minister House, he revealed that in his two and a half month tenure he reduced its expenses and saved Rs25 million for the exchequer. “I saved Rs3 million in the monthly electricity bill of the Chief Minister House when compared to the bill of April 2018 before I took charge by ensuring that the use of electricity was reduced,” he claimed.

He argued that a deficit budget of Rs70 billion could be reduced up to Rs30 to Rs35 billion if the rulers reduced expenses and controlled misuse of resources.

The chief minister called for bringing the newly merged seven tribal districts on a par with the settled areas of the province.

Peshawar Bar Association President Wakeel Zaman Khattak also addressed the meeting and praised Justice Dost Muhammad for his performance earlier as chief justice of Peshawar High Court and now as caretaker chief minister.

Peshawar High Court Bar Association President Syed Abdul Fayyaz and General Secretary Yasir Khattak were also present on the occasion. A large number of lawyers attended the ceremony.