Conduct of Punjab polls on May 14 getting impossible: Pak poll body to top court

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 19 : The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said Tuesday that the conduct of elections on May 14 is becoming impossible owing to the lack of resources and forces to maintain law and order in its answer to the Supreme Court of Pakistan about elections in Punjab, Geo News reported.

"At least 466,000 personnel are required for security in Punjab," the poll body said in its reply.

Last week, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was ordered by the apex court to provide cash for the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by April 17.

A three-member bench of Pakistan's highest court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, made the decision. The Punjab Assembly election had been moved from April 10 to May 14 by the same bench, which also overturned the ECP's decision to prolong the polling date to October 8, Geo News reported.

In its judgement dated April 4, the Supreme Court ordered the government to provide a report by April 17 on the security arrangements for the two provinces' elections.

Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Sunday that despite the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s "all-out efforts", elections in Punjab will not be held on May 14 in line with the Supreme Court's order.

Sanaullah, while addressing the media in Faisalabad, said the elections would be "held together" under a caretaker setup. Elections across the country would be held at the appointed time this year, he stressed.

Calling Imran Khan a "fitna" (chaos), Sanaullah said he had been brought to power through a "conspiracy", adding, "Their [PTI's] policies over four years created a crisis situation for the country."

According to the Dawn, a PML-N insider said the Sharifs were in the mood to defy the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP)-led three-member bench's decision to hold elections in the Punjab province on May 14 and there was no secret to it.