PPP announces election campaign with 'no hate' policy

KARACHI: Following the issuance of election schedule for general polls 2024, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Saturday announced that it would begin election campaign from December 27 with a ‘no hate’ policy, ARY News reported.

Addressing a press conference, PPP leader Sharjeel Memon said that the party plans to officially launch its election campaign with a mass gathering in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on December 27 – the day PPP supremo and ex-premier Benazir Bhutto’s was assassinated.

The former provincial minister made these remarks following the party’s board meeting held under the chairmanship of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

During the meeting, Sharjeel Memon said, the participants reviewed the country’s political situation after the announcement of the election schedule

“The PPP is the only party that stresses the need for holding timely elections in the country,” the PPP leader said, castigating other political parties for ‘seemingly running away from the polls’.

“Bilawal Bhutto has made it clear that PPP runs its campaign on positivity, not negativity. We will have to bury the old ways of politics with an end hate policy,” Sharjeel Memon added.

However, he regretted, some political leaders were still demanding revenge while ones who wanted to take action against their rivals are sitting in jail themselves.

The former minister said that Bilawal made it clear that the country’s problem isn’t taking revenge from one’s opponents, but the redressal of the nation’s issues.

“PPP is the only political party, who are bringing people together,” he said, adding that the need of the hour is for Pakistanis to unite, which will lead to the country’s development.

Taking over the presser, Senator Sherry Rehman demanded level playing field for the party and the conduct of elections on the designated date without any delay.

A day earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued the election schedule for the upcoming February 8 general polls in compliance with the Supreme Court (SC) order issued earlier.

According to a notification issued by the electoral watchdog, the public notice would be issued by the Returning Officer (RO) on December 19 with the dates for filing nominations from Dec 20-22.

The ECP, in its notification, stated that the names of the nominated candidates would be published on Dec 23 while the last date for scrutiny of their nomination papers would be from Dec 24-30.

The development came hours after Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan ordered the ECP to announce the election schedule by tonight as it suspended a Lahore High Court (LHC) order on the appointment of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) from the bureaucracy, which cast uncertainty over holding of general polls.

The Pakistan Supreme Court also issued a contempt of court notice to Barrister Umair Niazi – who filed the petition on behalf of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – seeking an explanation as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.