PTI ‘wants polls on same day’

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Thursday said, “Several Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) wanted elections of both national and provincial assemblies at the same time.”

Speaking to the media at Government College Peshawar, Governor Ali said that those MNAs had contacted him to convey their suggestion, but he told them that they should contact PTI Chairman Imran Khan and put their demand to him.

The governor said that if the provincial assembly election was held early, that would mean that every five years there would be two elections. In that case, he expressed the fear that parties would not accept the result when one party was in the provincial government.

“Imran Khan contested for eight seats and lost one, but even on that he levelled allegations of rigging,” he added. “When one party is in power in the province, what will be the reaction of other parties,” the governor wondered aloud.

Earlier this week, the governor announced May 28 as the date for the election of the K-P Assembly after consulting with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). He was mandated by the Supreme Court to announce the election date.

He told reporters that he had given the election date but that carrying out the voting was the responsibility of the ECP. He stressed that he gave the date on the Supreme Court’s order, yet he wanted that political parties took such decisions.

He hoped that “when the national and provincial assembly elections will be held after five months, they should be held with the consultation of all the parties.” He also said that going to jail was not uncommon for politicians, “but the conditions being created today are not suitable at all.”

About the law-and-order situation in the province, he said that the security agencies had described the situation as “dangerous.” He stressed that if the nation stood behind its security agencies, the problems would start decreasing.

Earlier, addressing the college function, the governor urged the students to work hard with determination. He also stressed the need for character-building among the students and promoting the culture of patience and forbearance.

“In the past few years, our political culture has been destroyed. Hate has made its way into politics, and it has been turned into animosity,” he said. “We have to be patient and talk with reason, and the differences should be resolved politely,” he added.

On a personal note, he said that he dreamt of politics, aspired for high office, and succeeded. “I studied while sitting on mats, but now I am the governor. I told my father in 1983 that one day I would be the governor and my father laughed,” he said.

He also recounted his major achievements during the period when he was the mayor of Peshawar. “I widened the roads in Peshawar. “Demolishing the walls of the Governor House was not an easy task,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2023.