Pakistan’s acting prime minister said he has ruled out the possibility that the country’s military manipulated the results of the country’s upcoming national elections and tried to sabotage the chances of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party appearing at the polls. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar stated that the voting will be carried out by the electoral body, not the army.
Why would the head of the electoral body turn against me, in any sense of the word?, he told the Associated Press news agency.
Pakistan has been in deepening political turmoil since April 2022, when Imran Khan was removed from office following a no-confidence vote in parliament. He was arrested in early August accused of corruption and sentenced to three years in prison. The sentence was later suspended, although he still remains in prison.
The electoral commission announced that the elections would be held during the last week of January, delaying the vote that was due to be held in November according to the country’s constitution.
When the commission fixes an exact date for the elections, his government “will provide all assistance, financial, security and other related needs,” the caretaker prime minister said.
On the cases against Imran Khan, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said: “We are not pursuing anyone for personal revenge. But yes, we will make sure the law is adequate. Anyone, be it Imran Khan or any other politician, who violates, in terms of his political behavior, the laws of the country, then restoration of the law must be ensured. “We cannot equate that with…political discrimination.”
He called his government’s working relationship with the military “very fluid,” as well as “very open and sincere,” and said: “We have challenges in civil-military relations, I don’t deny that civil institutions in Pakistan have deteriorated in terms of performance over the last few decades, but the army is disciplined and has organizational capabilities.”
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