SAHIWAL: The seventh digital census is going to start on March 1 instead of Feb 1, which can delay general elections either for six months or one year.

Moreover, the decision to link the general election with the census and new delimitation was made by Imran Khan’s government when it took up the matter in the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

Senator Hafiz Hamadullah, spokesperson for the PDM, told reporters at a seminary in Sahiwal city.

He stated that the census and delimitation cannot be completed before August or September. He asserted that it was both administratively necessary and constitutionally mandated to hold a general election following the census.

He said PDM leaders would decide about contesting elections as an alliance or separately at an appropriate time.

He said it’s not the decision of the PDM to arrest Imran Khan, but the former prime minister will have to face ongoing cases in the Election Commission of Pakistan and other courts.

Late start of digital census may put off election by six months or a year

He is facing three major cases: the foreign funding case, the Tosha Khana case, and the Tiryaan case.

He said the ongoing economic crisis was an outcome of PTI’s four-year rule.

He said the PTI ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for 10 years, and before their tenure, the province was under Rs90 billion in debt and is now under Rs900 billion. He said Mr Khan defaulted on paying Rs80 million for using a KP government helicopter for his personal campaign.

“Surprisingly, the KP Assembly before dissolution passed a bill to forgo Rs80 million default payment,” he said.

He said the PTI had already been rejected by the people of Karachi in local body elections, and this would be repeated in the general elections.

He predicted that Imran Khan would not be able to come back to power in the coming election.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2023