Kaira laments ECP failure to stop govt resources' use in campaign for NA-120

LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira on Wednesday said state machinery and resources were being used by the ruling PML-N in its campaign for the by-election in NA-120 in defiance of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) code of conduct.

Flanked by Nadeem Afzal Chan and other party leaders, the senior PPP leader while addressing a press conference lamented that the ECP could not ensure the implementation of its code of conduct and stop the ruling party from using government resources and the provincial ministers from flagrantly violating the election rules by participating in the election campaign.

He demanded of the commission to use its full powers to stop the violations of the code of conduct for the NA-120 by-election.

Kaira claimed that rifts within the ruling party had further deepened following the disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Taking aim at the rival party, he said, those parties seeking to weaken other political parties could not be strong by doing so.

Chan said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz was running the election campaign of her mother, the PML-N candidate for NA-120 seat, in violation of the election rules but the ECP was fast asleep.

A day before, the returning officer for the NA-120 by-election had issued a show-cause notice to Sharif’s son-in-law for violating the code of conduct.