PESHAWAR   -   Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday issued notices to Prime Minister Imran Khan, several federal ministers and other public officeholders after they violated the elections’ code of conduct by participating in a public gathering in Lower Dir district.

The notices, shared with media persons by Election Commission spokesman Sohail Ahmed, have been issued to Prime Minister Imran Khan, KP Governor Shah Farman, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Planning Minister Asad Umar, Communication Minister Murad Saeed, KP Zakat Minister Anwar Zeb Khan, Chief Minister’s Special Assistant Malak Shafi Ullah, and MPA Liaqat Ali Khan. Imran Khan and other ministers addressed a public rally in Timergara on Friday.

Earlier in January, the Commission had directed the Lower Dir administration and police to implement the code of conduct, and stop a rally that had been scheduled for January 27 and to be addressed by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Timergara; however, visit of the PM had been later postponed.

The letter, issued by the District Monitoring Officer (DMO) Hamidullah, asked the PM and others to appear in person or through a counsel in the commission offices along with a written statement at 10:30am on March 14, otherwise ex-parte decision would be taken as per the Elections Act-2017.

The Election Commission issued a new code of conduct on March 10 after consultation with political parties. The second phase of the local government elections is to take place in 18 districts including Lower Dir on March 31. The first phase of the LG elections had already been conducted on December 19, 2021 in 17 districts.

It merits a mention here that several political leaders, mostly from the ruling PTI, have been issued notices and some were even penalised by the election commission for violating the code of conduct for the elections.