Rana Sanaullah suggests holding NA, PA elections together

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has suggested once again to hold the National Assembly (NA) and provincial assembly (PA) elections together, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Rana Sanaullah said in a statement that the assemblies should complete their tenures. He alleged that the two assemblies, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), were forcedly dissolved.

He praised the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for taking a suo motu notice on the matter related to Punjab and KP elections.

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The interior minister said that they had shown reservations regarding some judges which should be reviewed by the top judiciary. He added that the same judges have asked for the suo motu action.

He expressed hope that the two judges would separate themselves from the Supreme Court (SC) bench after the reservations of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N).

It is pertinent to mention here that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial took a suo motu notice of delay in elections for Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies.

Regarding the resignation of the NAB chief, Sanaullah claimed that the National Accountability Bureau chairman Aftab Sultan was unwilling to continue his duties, however, his honesty cannot be questioned.

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He rejected the allegations that the NAB chairman tendered his resignation after being pressurised by the government.

A few days ago, Sanaullah said the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) should take this responsibility to hold free and fair elections in the national assembly (NA), and provincial assembly (PA).

Regarding the caretaker set-up, the interior minister said the caretaker government would make the arrangements for national and provincial assembly elections, he added. As per the current economic situation, he said ECP should conduct both elections in October to save time and money.

Rana Sanaullah said that delaying tactics had been used by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to get relief in lawsuits regarding Toshakhana and money laundering cases.