KP Governor urges ECP to hold polls in the province on October 8

ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Friday urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the general elections in the province on October 8, the same day the electoral watchdog has set for Punjab, in light of an increase in terrorist activity.

In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the governor argued that holding the elections in October rather than on May 28 would be in the “best public interest as well as in the interest of the state.” Following rejection from security and financial organizations to support the commission during the upcoming elections, the ECP decided to retract an earlier announcement for elections in Punjab.

The governor noted that recently, a fresh wave of terrorist activities has been taking place in the northwestern province on a daily basis.

He said major terrorist activities include cross-border fire in North Waziristan, an improvised explosive device (IED) blast on an army vehicle in Kohat, heavy exchange of fire with terrorists in South Waziristan on March 15, unknown terrorists fire on Khyber’s Bara Police Station on March 19.

Citing further incidents, he said a terrorist attack took on a police station in DI Khan followed by a search operation by the army, resulting in the martyrdom of three army soldiers on the night between March 21 and 22.

Also, he said, on March 21, a convoy was ambushed in South Waziristan which resulted in the martyrdom of Brigadier Mustafa Kamal Barki from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and injuring seven other personnel.