Punjab govt denies accusations of shirked duties during by polls

DIVISIONAL AND DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION HAD PREPARED A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, MAINTAINS THE SPOKESPERSON

A spokesperson for the Punjab government has categorically contradicted an erroneous impression being created by some circles that the administration was not present on the occasion of by-elections, saying that it is totally baseless and contrary to the facts. The spokesperson said that the press release of the chief election commissioner (CEC) also stated that the chief secretary was in contact with him till 3 am. The spokesperson added that all the officers had been active in discharging their duties and the chief secretary was personally monitoring the whole situation. The spokesperson said that a control room was set up at the divisional level and officers had been continuously submitting the report to the authorities. The spokesperson mentioned that the divisional and district administration had prepared a comprehensive plan, the officers were deployed under the same plan and they performed their duties diligently and honestly. The Punjab government was accused of negligence after clashes between the workers of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Sialkot’s NA-75 constituency broke out on Friday. During the incident, two people, one from each party, lost their lives. While the leaders of the ruling party held the PML-N as the perpetrators behind the incident, the PML-N itself was very vocal about holding the Punjab government, particularly its chief minister, liable for the incident. “Where is the chief minister of Punjab? He says an FIR [first information report] will be registered. You should be booked in the FIR,” PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb had lashed out during a press conference on Friday. “This provincial government can’t hold one by-election.” The PML-N vice president had also demanded a case be registered against Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar over “vote theft” and the deaths of the two people who died.