LAHORE: Central Punjab PPP leader and former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has been fined by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for repeated violations of code of conduct in the by-polls for NA-133.

ECP’s District Monitoring Officer Zahid Subhani fined Mr Ashraf Rs49,500 and directed him to deposit the amount with the treasury within three days.

Mr Subhani says Mr Ashraf had earlier been issued a warning on Nov 19 with a direction not to again violate the code of conduct by participating in the election campaign of any candidate.

The monitoring officer has, in the meantime, also written to the capital city police officer and the deputy commissioner drawing their attention towards violation of the election code by various parliamentarians.

The election authority desired that the police and district administration should restrict the entry of any public office-holder/elected representative in the constituency NA-133 where polling is due on Dec 5.

It was directed that if any public office-holder or elected representative is found holding a corner meeting, procession or conducting election campaign in any manner he/she may immediately be expelled out of the constituency so that level-playing field may be provided to all contestants.

Meanwhile, Punjab Election Commissioner Ghulam Israr Khan held a meeting with the district returning officer, returning officer, deputy commissioner, police and Rangers authorities for a briefing on preparations for the NA-133 by-polls.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2021