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- February 3, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
ISLAMABAD: All preparations are complete for the peaceful, free, transparent, and fair elections that Pakistan will hold on February 8, according to a statement made on Saturday by Murtaza Solangi, the Federal Minister of Information, Broadcasting, and Parliamentary Affairs. Polls in Pakistan, which is currently the fifth largest democracy in the world, are just four days away, he said foreign observers and media personnel who had come to Pakistan to watch and report on the February 8 polls.
Standing surrounded by representatives from the Pakistani Election Commission, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and the Foreign Office, he declared that Pakistan is currently the world’s fifth-largest democracy. He announced elections for four provinces’ provincial assemblies Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as well as the country’s National Assembly (NA). Reportedly, certain quarters have been disseminating hearsay on the upcoming elections, claiming factors such as extreme weather, law and order challenges, or other matters.
“Polling places have been fully secured, and the administration will guarantee free and fair elections on February 8,” he continued. The Pakistan Army would serve as a quick response force in the third tier of security, with police making up the first tier and Rangers and Frontier Constabulary serving in the second. He claimed that everyone in Pakistan has the freedom to voice their opinions and critique the government.
According to the minister, there were 12,85,85,760 voters in Pakistan overall, of whom 5,93,22,056 were women and 69263704 were men. In response to a query, he said that as Pakistan has been fighting terrorism for the past few decades, law and order and terrorism were not new problems in the country. He remembered that security concerns were present during the elections in 2008 and 2013.
He declared, “Terrorist groups of all shades and colors with safe havens in a neighboring nation have increased their activity since 2021, with the change of guard in Kabul. He declared that Pakistan would stop supporting terrorism and that free and fair elections would be held at all costs. “We have prepared our battle-hardened security forces for the elections,” asserted Murtaza Solangi. In response to a query, he stated that the Special Investment Facilitation Council had employed the economic measures implemented during the caretaker government as a means of luring investment. According to him, the SIFC has inked many business agreements with friendly nations.
According to the minister, the interim administration made significant progress in boosting the economy. He stated that the dollar was not even accessible for 350 to 400 rupees on the open market when the caretakers took office in August of last year. However, he added, the current administration’s actions have stabilized the rupee and improved the state of the economy.
He declared, “The elections will be covered by 92 international observers from various nations. According to him, the countries with observers were the Russian Federation, the European Union, the Netherlands, Hungary, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Japan, South Africa, Malaysia, and Zimbabwe. When asked about the claims that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf politicians and party employees were being victimized, he responded that these claims were ludicrous and without foundation.
According to Solangi, a few PTI activists were taken into custody, but it was because of their alleged involvement in crimes or the May 9 occurrences. The minister declared that the PTI hierarchy might freely critique the rulings of the courts and the government. In addition, they have other legal remedies, such as pounding on doors in courts, including higher courts.