PM Khan to address Mansehra today despite ECP warning, fines

As part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) campaign for the March 31 local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is set to address the public in Thakral Stadium, Mansehra on Friday.

Previously, it was reported that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had taken notice of PM Khan’s visit to Mansehra. The commission called it the breach of code of conduct as it had earlier restricted the premier and other government officials from attending any public gathering ahead of local elections.

Despite this, the PM ignored the warning and attended a public gathering in Swat on March 16 for which the commission slapped a Rs50,000 fine on the PM and government officials. The premier also attended a gathering in Lower Dir on March 19 where the region’s District Monitoring Officer (DMO) Hameedul Lah had imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on him.

According to Dawn, DMO of the Provincial Election Commission Hayatullah Jan has written a letter to the chief secretary asking him to convey to PM Khan that his visit to Mansehra is a violation of the election law and he should cancel it.