Army’s help ‘not required’ for G-B polls

Gilgit-Baltistan Caretaker Chief Minister Mir Afzal Khan has said that Pakistan Army’s help will not be required for the Legislative Assembly polls scheduled for November 15, as the caretaker provincial government has the capacity to hold free, fair and transparent elections.

Earlier, the Legislative Assembly elections were to be held on August 18, but got postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. President Dr Arif Alvi, in a notification, had announced November 15 as the new date for the elections.

Addressing a news conference along with G-B Chief Secretary Khurram Agha on Friday, the caretaker chief minister said, “The police and paramilitary forces are capable enough of holding the G-B Legislative Assembly elections without having the support of the army.”

DIG (retd) Afzal said, “Army will be called in only on an as-needed basis.”

The caretaker CM said that they would set an example for the rest of the country to follow by holding elections without the support of the army.

He said that the caretaker government was neutral and would discharge its duties with “honesty and dedication”, urging all political parties for cooperation and implementation of Covid-19 standard operating procedures during the electoral process.

Afzal also refuted the allegations of pre-poll rigging levelled by the leadership of some political parties during the all parties conference held in Islamabad on September 20, saying: “If any caretaker minister of G-B is found campaigning for a political party or candidates, strict action will be taken against him.”

Chief Secretary Agha said that currently G-B was among the most peaceful areas of the country where people are very cooperative, peaceful and well-educated.

For conducting free, fair and transparent elections, he said, the provincial government was assisting Election Commission G-B.

Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner G-B Raja Shahbaz Khan said that the PML-N leadership in G-B had requested him to hold the elections under the supervision of the army. “Other leaders too asked me to seek army’s help in conducting the polls,” he told reporters at his office.

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP