Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party announced on Sunday that it would formally launch its election campaign in Punjab on Monday, although there was no clarity on the date of elections in the politically crucial province.
PTI general secretary Asad Umar tweeted, “Tehreek-e-Insaf will officially launch its election campaign tomorrow. They (Pakistan Democratic Movement) may not be ready, but we are.”
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is a coalition of political parties led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that is currently governing the country.
Interestingly, PTI announced the launch of election campaign despite the uncertainty surrounding elections in Punjab, the most populous province that sends nearly 150 MPs to the National Assembly.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is waiting for funds from the federal government to conduct the elections. The Ministry of Defense has informed the ECP that the Pakistan Army will not be available to provide security.
Parliament and the judiciary have also clashed over holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces as the cash-strapped government refused to authorize funds to meet the expenses amid the economic crisis facing the country.
The Supreme Court has directed the federal government to release funds worth 21 billion rupees to the ECP by April 10 and provide security for the election.
However, the government refused to release funds for the elections as the Parliament rejected the proposal.
The Ministry of Defense had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court to withdraw its order to hold the elections on 14 May. The hearing of the case is going on in the Supreme Court and during the proceedings Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial made the remarks. The three-judge bench will not withdraw its order to hold elections on May 14.
Former prime minister Khan has been pushing for mid-term elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, which were ruled by his PTI till recently.
The PTI dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies on 14 and 18 January, respectively, to force the ruling PDM coalition in Islamabad to call for early general elections in the country.
Media reports said that PTI recently finalized a list of 297 candidates after PTI chairman Khan personally interviewed all the party’s candidates to retain their eligibility in giving party tickets.
But the allocation of tickets has not happened properly within the party as many high-profile leaders were ignored, the report said.
Meanwhile, Geo News, citing sources, reported that Khan was planning to include party vice president Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Omar in the review committee to overcome the objections.
The current term of the National Assembly will complete its five-year term in August this year. As per the constitution, elections will be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the lower house. This means the election should be held by mid-October. The last general election was held in July 2018.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)