Pakistan: PML-N leader Amir Muqam suggests delay in polls by two to four weeks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Amir Muqam on Saturday suggested that the upcoming general elections would be delayed by two to four weeks due to the prevalent security threat and the weather conditions in the tribal belt on election days, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. Muqam's statement comes after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Pakistan President Arif Alvi agreed on February 8, 2024, as the date for elections.

In an interview on Dawn News show InFocus, Muqam stressed that the current situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was nothing new, as he referred to the security situation in 2008 and 2013 and added that, despite that, elections were still held. He said there was no other alternative other than elections and that is why political parties were campaigning.

Muqam said there were always threats to certain individuals, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and added that he himself was the target of many attacks, according to Dawn report.

Amir Muqam said, "There is no other solution to the country's ill than elections. We do have one genuine reservation, one is the security issue, but many areas such as the Malakand division, Hazara, tribal belt and some areas in Balochistan, where there will be a lot of snowfall on Feb 8 so access is not possible in those conditions."

He noted that more people will participate in the elections if polls are held on March 1 or 2 instead of February 1, Dawn reported.

"Considering those ground realities we say, if elections are delayed by two to three to four weeks to March 1 or 2 instead of Feb 8 then more people will be able to participate," Muqam said. Asked whether the PML-N had officially raised the matter with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Muqam said many people had taken up the matter on a personal basis but not on the party's behalf as it was a "genuine issue". He said this solution could only address weather issues, as the security threat was always present and would remain so. He stressed that the security issue is not something that could be controlled in three to four months.

Muqam even said that the PML-N was in the "best position" in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the upcoming polls from the other parties. Meanwhile, Pakistan caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti expressed concern that the political leaders in the country are facing terrorist threats in the run-up to the February polls, Dawn reported.

While speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Bugti highlighted a general threat to political figures, with a specific alert for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. He asserted that the political leaders in the country face significant challenges during public rallies and gatherings in the current climate of terrorism. He also pointed out the reluctance of political figures to limit their public appearances, preferring to engage directly with the electorate.

He said there was a history of terrorist activities during election days and recalled that many political leaders, including former Prime Ministers Shaukat Aziz and Benazir Bhutto, Nawab Sanaullah Zehri and Mir Siraj Khan Raisani, were targeted during election campaigns and political rallies from 2002 onwards. He, however, vowed to provide the people with an opportunity to freely exercise their right to vote.