In response to security concerns in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) held a crucial meeting on Thursday. Afterward, Caretaker Interior Minister Dr. Gohar Ejaz declared that the elections would take place on February 8 at any costs.
This development occurs one day after an ANP activist was killed in Qilla Abdullah, Balochistan, and an independent candidate for the National Assembly was assassinated in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur region.
Eight days prior to the general elections, there was a significant uptick in violence that included a grenade attack on PPP candidate Ali Madad Jatak’s campaign office located on Sariab Road in Quetta. In the Baloch district of Pakistan, a similar grenade attack occurred at the home of another PPP candidate, Mir Zahoor Buledi.
At least four people were killed and five more injured after a bomb went off on a key road in Sibi, Balochistan, on Tuesday during an election rally held by Saddam Tareen, an independent candidate for the NA-253 (Ziarat) constituency who is associated with the PTI.
“Nobody should have any doubts regarding the elections [on February 8]. Elections are scheduled for February and will be overseen by the ECP and the caretaker administration.