Elections may be postponed in Pakistan, PM Sharif indicated

islamabad (Best Hindu News): The Pakistan government is preparing to bring in an interim arrangement to hold elections within 90 days, but in the meantime Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has hinted at delaying the polls, causing a rift among his coalition partners. Has been.

Various social media posts have been highlighting the lack of closed-door talks and consultations between Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and its main coalition partner Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The Prime Minister has said that the elections will be held only on the basis of the 2023 digital census, hinting at a delay of between eight months and a year.

In an interview he said, we will have to hold elections on the basis of the new census… When the census is done, elections should be held on that basis, unless there is an obstacle which cannot be overcome. But I don’t see any such obstacle. Sharif’s comments have sparked widespread debate as the PPP has made it clear that it will not support any decision that results in delaying elections.

Senior PPP leader Nawaz Muhammad Yusuf Talpur said, the party has already taken a stand on the subject that the new delimitation will delay the holding of general elections and therefore the party has opposed it. PPP Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi said, in theory, four months would be needed for the redrawn delimitation, but in reality, it could take up to eight months or a year.

Meanwhile, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has also opposed the decision to hold elections on the basis of the old census. Senior MQM-P leader Mustafa Kamal said, “We have already taken up the matter with the Prime Minister.” We believe that the elections should be held only according to the new delimitation, which is possible only after the digital census.

He said, if the government conducts elections according to the old census, then lakhs of people will be deprived of the right to vote. Open statements by political leaders on public forums and social media platforms highlight the alienation and lack of communication between the coalition parties.

Javed Siddiqui, senior political analyst, said the PML-N leadership would like to delay the election so that it can use the time for campaigning and do the necessary damage control to regain the confidence of its voters ahead of the election. On the other hand, the PPP would be keen to take full advantage of the rifts and revelations that have worsened in Punjab, following the PTI’s slump and the PML-N’s weak political position.

The analyst said the PPP would not like to give the PML-N time to campaign for a long time and re-consolidate its political position in Punjab. In this way, she would be able to make her comeback in Punjab and become the driving force in the formation. As the next government, it will have a stronghold in Sindh province, a solid political alliance in Balochistan and significant penetration in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Political analyst Rameez Khan said, “The ongoing rumors about the caretaker setup being brought in for a longer period will serve for more than 90 days. The financial empowerment of the interim setup is being seen as part of that plan, the recent revelations by the Prime Minister only add to the suspicion of an inordinate delay in the elections.”