Pak EC delays its decision on Jan 8 polls, as political parties demand no change in its schedule

With both the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) making it clear that they do want postponement in the schedule of the January 8 polls in the wake of the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, the Election Commission (EC) on Monday decided to delay its decision on the general elections in the country by one more day.

Islamabad, Dec 31 : With both the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) making it clear that they do want postponement in the schedule of the January 8 polls in the wake of the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, the Election Commission (EC) on Monday decided to delay its decision on the general elections in the country by one more day.

"We have called for reports from the provincial governments and provincial election commissioners on the situation. The reports will reach here by evening today and we will decide tomorrow," Election Commission Secretary Kanwar Dilshad told reporters here after a meeting of the Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Mohammed Farooq.

During the meeting, the officials of the Commission told the Commissioners that the work of the EC has been hampered in several areas of the country due to large scale rioting that followed Benazir's assassination.

They apprised the Chief Commissioner about the fragile law and order situation prevailing in most parts of the country, especially in Sindh where several offices of the Commission were set on fire.

Chief of PML (N), Nawaz Sharif today said that the January 8 polls should go ahead as planned earlier.

Demanding Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's resignation, Sharif said that a national unity government should lead the country to the polls.

"He (Musharraf) is a one-man calamity. He is responsible for all the troubles in Pakistan. The country is burning,'' The News quoted Sharif, as saying.

Sharif's assertive comment on holding the polls as per the schedule comes a day after PPP's new co-chairman and husband of slain Benazir, Asif Ali Zardari, told reporters that his party is favour of contesting the polls that should go ahead as per the schedule.

The PPP stated that postponement for a few more days would be fine, but anything more than that would be unacceptable to the party, which would then launch a mass agitation.

ANI