LAHORE: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja has assured Punjab government of ECP’s full support amid Law and Order situa-tion and increasing call for general elections in the province.
The assurances given during a meeting on Thursday in which the Punjab caretaker government informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) about the May 9 vandalism of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
ECP CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja reached the Chief Minister’s Office and was welcomed by Punjab caretaker Chief Minis-ter Mohsin Raza Naqvi. Mr Naqvi and Mr Raja chaired a high-level meeting, which was also attended by other ECP members. The meeting condemned the May 9 tragedy and expressed solidarity with the army.
The CEC and ECP members were given “concrete evidence” of PTI’s involvement in the May 9 vandalism. The Punjab government also provided evidence in the form of pictures, videos, and messages.
Punjab IGP Dr Usman Anwar had informed the CEC and ECP about the attacks on Jinnah House and military installa-tions. The ECP was also in-formed that there were 256 incidents of violence in three days, in which military installations were specifically targeted. Agitators damaged 108 vehicles belonging to police and other agencies and also damaged 23 buildings.
The Punjab government also informed the ECP that five people were killed, and 127 officers and 15 civilians were in-jured.
On this occasion, Mr Naqvi said, “Military installations were attacked through proper planning. With the help of geofencing, the Punjab government has obtained evidence of links between the riots and the PTI leadership [located in Zaman Park].
“The political party shamed the entire nation. Under the guise of politics, the political party was resorted to the wicked tactics. Initial estimates have reported a loss of Rs6 billion,” Mr Naqvi maintained.
After getting wide-range briefing, the CEC appreciated the steps taken by the Punjab government to provide security to the people. “The Punjab government should not be under any kind of pressure. We [ECP] are with you,” he added.
Reiterating the role of the electoral watchdog to conduct transparent and peaceful elections, Mr Raja said, “To con-duct the elections, the security sit-uation in the country will be reassessed. The ECP is not affiliated with any political party and has no political motive”.“We will extend all possible support to the Punjab government in conducting free and fair elections,” Mr Raja added. –Agencies
