ISLAMABAD    -    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) late Wednesday notified elections in the Khyber Pa­khunkhwa province on October 8, 2023, same date fixed for polls in the Punjab province.

The date of elections is scheduled following KP Governor Ghulam Ali ‘s letter to ECP for fix­ing October 8,2023 for polls in the province. Gov­ernor KP Haji Ghulam Ali recently asked elector­al watchdog to hold elections in KP province on a same fixed for polls in Punjab province on Octo­ber 8,2023.

Governor KP, in a letter to Chief Election Com­missioner of Pakistan Sikandar Sultan Raja, shar­ing reason of new wave of terrorism asked to delay elections for more five months.

He argued, in a letter, that the polls would be better to schedule on a same date fixed for Punjab province. Governor has earlier given May 28, 2023 for polls in his province but later backtracked. 

He mentioned that the fresh wave of terrorism has been taking place in the northwestern prov­ince on a daily basis, so in such a situation elec­tions should be postponed till October 8,2023.

He said major terrorist activities include cross-border fire in North Waziristan, an impro­vised explosive device (IED) blast on an army ve­hicle in Kohat, heavy exchange of fire with terror­ists in South Waziristan on March 15, unknown terrorists fire on Khyber’s Bara Police Station on March 19. Governor further mentioned that a ter­rorist attack took on a police station in DI Khan followed by a search operation by the army, result­ing in the martyrdom of three army soldiers on the night between March 21 and 22.