General elections in Pakistan will take place on Feb 8, says acting interior minister Gohar Ejaz

Islamabad: Despite increasing poll-related violence, Pakistan’s acting interior minister Gohar Ejaz on Thursday dispelled all doubts about holding the general elections on the already announced date of February 8.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had summoned a meeting on Thursday to discuss the worsening law and order situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. It was attended by the Interior Minister, Secretary of Interior, Chief Secretaries, Inspector Generals of Police from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, along with representatives from intelligence agencies.

Ejaz, the acting interior minister, while briefly talking to the media after the security meeting, said that after the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, “There should not be any doubt about elections. No matter what happens.”

“The government will ensure that the elections are held on February 8,” he said in response to a question regarding rumours about a possible delay in the elections in some regions due to security reasons.

With just a week left for the elections, the country is facing a rising threat of attacks by militant outfits, especially in the two provinces bordering Afghanistan. On Wednesday, unknown gunmen killed Rehan Zeb Khan in the Siddiqabad area of Bajaur district of the violence-infested KP.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan had announced that it was backing the slain candidate for the National Assembly.

His killing came a day after four people were killed while six were wounded in a bomb blast at a PTI rally in Balochistan’s Sibi city.