ISLAMABAD (HRNW) – Caretaker Interior Minister Dr Gohar Ejaz on Thursday said that general elections would be held on Feb 8 under any circumstances.
He expressed these views while talking to media after attending the meeting of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the deteriorating law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces.
Caretaker interior minister, Interior Secretary Aftab Durrani, intelligence officials as well as chief secretaries and police chiefs of Balochistan and KP attended the key meeting.
The meeting discussed the situation after terror attacks took place in the two provinces.
Reiterating government resolve, the interior minister said the caretaker government was determined for holding fair, free and peaceful elections in the country.
“All resources will be provided to the provincial governments for holding transparent and peaceful elections,” he said.
Earlier, addressing a consultative meeting held here at secretariat to review the overall law and order situation in Balochistan, the interior minister expressed his satisfaction over the preparations and strategy of the provincial government for holding peaceful and successful elections.
Caretaker Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs, Mir Zubair Jamali, Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakil Qadir, Additional Chief Secretary Home Balochistan, Zahird Saleem, Commissioner Quetta Hamza Shafkat and officers of the law enforcement agencies attended the meeting.
Additional Chief Secretary Home, Zahid Saleem gave a detailed briefing regarding the overall situation of law and order in the province and arrangements for holding the elections in the province. The interior minister said that caretaker government was committed to complete the election process by using all available resources and leaving no stone unturned in that regard.
The federal government was striving hard to provide the provincial governments with necessary equipments, latest gadgets and other resources to ensure safety of lives of the voters and candidates, he added.
Lauding the efforts made by the Balochistan government for maintaining peace and holding general elections 2024, the minister said provincial government had chalked out a comprehensive strategy for the successful conduct of the election process.
The minister said that elements hostile to peace would not be allowed to take the law into their hands.
Dr Gohar, said that there was a dire need for devising a long-term integrated strategy for sustainable peace in the province, adding that formation of a better strategy for maintaining law and order in the province could prevent young minds from falling into the wrong hands.
The government was taking all steps to eliminate poverty and provision of better opportunities for dignified employment for prosperity of the province, he added.