Senator Dilawar writes to Sanjrani for compliance with resolution seeking polls delay

ISLAMABAD: Senator Dilawar Khan, head of the Independent Parliamentary Group, wrote a letter to Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, expressing displeasure over ‘lack of action’ by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for delaying the February 8 general elections despite the passage of a resolution, ARY News reported on Monday.

On Jan 5, the Upper House of Parliament adopted a resolution during a session with only 15 lawmakers in attendance. It sought polls delay in the light of extreme weather in hilly areas and the deteriorating security situation.

The resolution was introduced by independent Senator Dilawar and received support primarily from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) senators.

However, the passage of the resolution was strongly criticised by major political parties – including PPP, PML-N and PTI. Moreover, PPP and PTI served notices to their senators, Gurdeep Singh and Bahramand Tangi, who remained abstained from voting.

Subsequently, Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan submitted a fresh resolution to the Senate Secretariat, pointing out that holding elections was a constitutional requirement and responsibility of election commission and the caretaker government.

In the letter today, Senator Dilawar told Sadiq Sanjrani that the resolution passed by the Senate on January 5 “aptly reflected the collective aspirations of the House”.

“However, despite the Senate’s explicit urging and the subsequent dispatch of a copy of the resolution to the ECP, it is disconcerting that no tangible steps have been taken by the ECP to postpone the general elections scheduled for February 8,” he said.

He emphasised that attention should have been paid to the precautions mentioned in the resolution as without solving the problems, there is a ‘compromise’ on conducting fair and transparent elections.

“Intervene as the custodian of the House and find out the status of implementation of my resolution,” the letter further reads.

He urged the Senate Chairman to ensure that the February 8 elections are postponed, so that people from all over the country can participate in the election activities.