ISLAMABAD  -  With the February 8 polls just a little over a month away, the upper house of the parliament Friday passed a resolution seeking delay to the polls due to the ‘security’ concerns.

The resolution was moved by an independent member, Senator Dilawar Khan with only 15 lawmakers present in the house of 100 members. Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Senator Afnan Ullah Khan, however, opposed the non-binding resolution. Presenting the resolution, Senator Dilawar said the voter turnout in the colder areas remains high during the moderate weather conditions. January and February are recognised as the coldest months in the majority of the areas in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He expressed great concern on the recent attempts on the lives of JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, former lawmaker Mohsin Dawar, and other political leaders.

The Ministry of Interior has expressed serious threats to the lives of prominent politicians increasing the challenges faced by political parties in exercising their right to a free and fair election,” Dilawar added.

He further said that there had been a spike in attacks on security forces and citizens, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The intelligence agencies have warned of militant attacks threats on election rallies in both provinces, he said further. He said that the election schedule may be postponed to facilitate the “effective participation of people from all areas of Pakistan and belonging to all political shades. The Senate Secretariat later issued a notification regarding the approval of the resolution.

It requested the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to take necessary action and submit a report to the secretariat within two months on the resolution’s central demands.

Immediately after the resolution was passed, Senator Afnanullah of the PML-N said the security situation in the country was indeed not good but added that the conditions were worse in 2008 and 2013 when the elections were held. “Will you delay elections on the pretext of weather and security?” he posed a question. “Why didn’t you say these things in 2008 and 2013? I want to keep this forward on record that general elections were held twice in February,” the senator said, alleging that “boot polish” had once again begun. He said that several people wanted the elections to be delayed because of “personal benefits”. 

Speaking in the house, independent Senator Hidayatullah Khan said he had lodged nine FIRs in the past two weeks over the threats he received. He further said that the provincial assembly candidate of the JUI-F escaped a bomb blast a day before and added there was a need to look at the situation with an open mind. He claimed that pamphlets by the outlawed Daesh had been distributed in Bajaur district. Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) Senator Manzoor Ahmed said there was no denying that Pakistan’s security and economic situation had worsened over the time.