KARACHI: Just a day after the Council of Common Interests (CCI) ratified the 2023 census and made it almost certain that general elections may not be held this year as fresh delimitations have now become compulsory, the federal government on Sunday put the onus of conducting polls on the Election Commission within the next three months.

Information Minister Marr­iyum Aurangzeb, a key member of the federal cabinet, vowed that the current government would complete its term on Aug 9, when the assemblies would be dissolved, and a summary in this regard was set to be forwarded to President Arif Alvi.

According to this summary, the next elections “should be held within three months”, Ms Aurangzeb said to a question about the expected election schedule while talking to journalists at the Karachi Press Club.

“The Election Commission has already begun its preparation on these lines. But again, this is the responsibility of the Election Commission and we hope that it will fulfil it. The [timely] elections and the continuity of the democratic process are crucial for the country,” she said.

Marriyum assures journalists of addressing concerns over Pemra amendment bill

She insisted that the approval of the latest census was a “national and constitutional duty” of the federal government and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took all provinces and political allies on board before reaching a final decision.

“After the census was held and the provinces agreed with the numbers, they [provinces] wanted it to be notified. The CCI took the unanimous decision and thus we fulfilled our constitutional duty,” she said.

“The elections are a constitutional duty of the Election Commission. As far as our government is concerned, PM Shehbaz has already announced after consultation with the allies that our term would be over on Aug 9,” she added.

When asked about the possible return of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, she didn’t give an exact time frame but vowed that the former three-time prime minister would personally lead the party’s campaign for the next polls.

Pemra amendment bill

The information minister ruled out the concerns raised by the journalists about a draft bill she introduced to the parliament on July 20 seeking to amend the ordinance governing the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Ordinance, 2002.

Ms Aurangzeb described the Pemra Ordinance, 2002 as a “black law”, which she said was enacted by a dictator (former military ruler Pervez Musharraf).

“It’s our government that introduced amendments after 12 months of extensive consultation with the relevant stakeholders,” she said.

The National Assembly approved the bill earlier this month.

On Friday, the Senate referred it to the Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting for improvement in light of concerns raised by senators.

Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday that the committee has decided in a meeting that its members would submit their amendments on Monday (today).

“Let me assure you that we would not pass anything on which you have reservations,” Ms Aurangzeb told journalists. “We have been victims of censorship and attacks on media expression. We aren’t going to make any law that suppresses freedom of speech.”

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2023