PM Kakar clears the air on ‘level playing field’ demands

ISLAMABAD: Interim Prime Minister (PM) Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Friday asserted that all political parties had the right and permission to stage rallies, calling the allegation of being denied level playing field ‘not a very serious one’, ARY News reported.

“This is a normal political process and is not a very serious allegation on which the whole caretaker cabinet sits down to find a solution,” the prime minister said in an interview to a private news channel.

Responding to the question about level playing field, PM Kakar said that all political parties had the right and permission to stage rallies as no additional laws were in place to disrupt gatherings of any party.

Sometimes, the premier said, the political parties wanted to establish a “perception” of an unequal political arena to attract their voters since this is a part of their ‘narrative’.

“The caretaker government would ensure a level playing field for all the parties and the national and international observers would also validate the fairness of the elections”, he maintained.

PM Kakar further said that there was no restriction on any political party nor had any been declared illegal, and their candidates were free to file their nominations.

To a question, he reiterated his earlier position that as per the law, the power of finalising the election date rested with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

“Even now, the date was finalised by the ECP which had the powers to hold consultations including with the head of the state”, PM Kakar added.

It is pertinent to mention here that major political parties – PPP, PML-N and PTI – have complained about being denied of level playing field.

Earlier in the day, PML-N Senator Ishaq Dar claimed that his party was denied a level playing field in the past.

“We were not given level playing field.” He said that PML-N issued a “white paper” on massive rigging during the 2018 elections. Dar said there should be a level playing field for all, stressing that credible elections are important for the country.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) notified general elections on February 8, 2024. The electoral watchdog issued a notification of the date of the general election under Section 57 of the Election Act۔

The notification said that in light of the Supreme Court’s order, the general elections will take place on February 8, 2024.

The notification was issued by the ECP after, the Supreme Court declared February 8, 2024, as the date for holding general elections across the country after the ECP submitted the record of meeting with the president.