Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid on Monday said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the government were coming closer and the combative atmosphere between the two was diminishing.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the interior minister said: "It is a good thing that the election commission and the government are coming closer [together]. That combative atmosphere is diminishing."
He said there should be a cordial atmosphere between institutions so fair elections can be conducted.
The interior minister also said that many messages were spread in his name that he had written a letter in support of the chief election commissioner. He clarified that "I wrote a letter for him but [it was] for a federal position."
Rashid's comments came two days after Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said much the same on Saturday, that issues with the institution were moving towards improvement. "We don't have a personal dispute with the [chief] election commissioner or other election personnel so the hope is the situation there will improve," Chaudhry had said.
Relations between the two institutions had deteriorated following a series of blistering attacks against the ECP by government ministers with Railways Minister Azam Swati accusing it of taking bribes and Chaudhry accusing the chief election commissioner of being the "opposition's mouthpiece". The ECP had subsequently issued notices on September 16 to the two, seeking evidence regarding the allegations and diatribe.
Responding to PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif's demand that the 2023 elections will be fair and transparent, Rashid gave his commitment that they would be. He added that the same was the prime minister's opinion.
Regarding the PML-N president's claim of politically burying the PTI in the 2023 elections, Rashid said: "Get prayers [carried out] for yourself and worry about yourself. The fight for inheritance has started in your family and where it will go two years later [no one knows]."
He predicted there would be three factions within the PML-N and it would be subject to internal strife and conflict two years later when a new political atmosphere would be present.
More to follow.
via The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/3ET7pK5
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