The election commission has questioned the neutrality of the country’scaretaker government tasked with holding national elections, saying itappears to be aligned with the opponents of jailed former prime ministerImran Khan.
The caretaker government, which took over last month on the five yearexpiry of parliament, is meant to ensure impartiality in the run up to theelection, but Khan’s continued incarceration and ban from contestingelections has raised concerns.
“It is a general perception that the caretaker government is a continuationof the previous government,” says a letter seen by *Reuters* written by theElection Commission to the office of caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul HaqKakar.
Kakar, whose party was an ally in the outgoing anti-Khan coalitiongovernment, took over from Shehbaz Sharif who comes from Khan’s biggestrival party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which with the allianceof nearly a dozen parties removed Khan from power.
The letter, dated Wednesday, is a rare official rebuke of the government.Election results are rarely accepted across the board in Pakistan andperceptions of bias could cast a further shadow over the credibility of theprocess.
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An almost certain delay in the national election, which is due in November,has stoked more political uncertainty amid the worst economic crisis in thenation of 241 million.
No date has so far been given for the voting, and analysts fear that thecaretaker government led by Kakar, who comes from a pro-military politicalparty, could remain in power for a longer period.