Government rules out election postponement, citing Pakistan’s resilience amid past security challenges

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi on Wednesday dismissed the possibility of election postponement, saying Pakistan had previously conducted national polls in more challenging security situations and expressing hope for active campaigning by all political parties in the coming days.
Pakistan endured rising number of militant attacks and suicide bombings last year that mostly targeted security forces and police personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. With the country beginning to move toward next month’s general elections, militants have also started targeting political parties and their candidates in different parts of the country.
“Elections will be held on Thursday, February 8, 2024,” Solangi said during a brief media interaction at the election commission office. “We have conducted elections even in the worst conditions, the current situation is much better than in 2008 and 2013.”
The minister acknowledged the security challenges in the country, saying the government was striving to improve the situation.
Asked about the slow pace of election activities in the country, he said political parties were in the process of finalizing their candidates and would soon begin their campaigns.
He did not comment on his meeting with election commission officials which came shortly after a Pakistani court restored the “cricket bat” as the symbol of former prime minister Imran Khan’s political party and declared its revocation by the election regulatory authority as unconstitutional.
“We have been in continuous contact with the election commission since the first meeting of the caretaker cabinet,” he said. “There is daily contact with the election commission, visiting its office is a routine matter.”
Solangi also dismissed a question about Internet disruption ahead of a virtual fundraiser of Khan’s party, saying it was due to technical reasons and had nothing to do with politics.
“More details about the Internet shutdown can be found out from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority,” he added.