ECP has no trust in police capabilities: ANP

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) said on Monday that deployment of the army personnel during the by-election amounted to undermining the capabilities of the police force. Talking to reporters at the Bilour House here, ANP central General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should clarify its position over the deployment of army in 35 constituencies where by-elections were held on October 14.

"The deployment of soldiers shows that the ECP has no trust in the capabilities of the police," he said, adding that institutions should not be made controversial and their integrity must be protected.

The ANP leader said that the electorate in Peshawar had played their role in electing Samar Haroon Bilour, the widow of Haroon Bashir Bilour to the KP Assembly. Mian Iftikhar said that losing the KP Assembly seats in Swat manifested that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had lost its credibility. It appears this government would not last for more than a year," he claimed. He alleged ECP had changed the result of the by-election for the PK-53 constituency in Mardan. "The ECP had issued notification of the ANP candidate's victory," he maintained. He demanded ECP should tell the nation as to why the result was changed and the PTI candidate was declared a winner.

Mian Iftikhar believed that ECP had lost its credibility as it had never conducted free and fair polls in the country.