The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued a warning to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday (8th December), citing claims that he plans to launch a health insurance scheme in Peshawar today, barely 10 days before the province’s local government elections.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, on his day-long visit to the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, will launch the “Micro Health Insurance Programme.”
The insurance project Kamyab Pakistan would give free medical care worth Rs1 million per year to 7.5 million families in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through the Kamyab Pakistan Program.
The ECP mentioned the PM’s planned visit to the provincial capital in a letter to the premier and reminded him of the commission’s Nov 4 notification, which included guidelines for parties and contesting candidates ahead of the polls.
The ECP has set the dates for the first and second phases of local government elections in the province for December 19 and January 16.
The ECP said in a letter, “After the issuance of the election schedule, the President, Prime Minister, Governor, Speaker, Deputy Speaker of any assembly Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Senate, Federal and Provincial Ministers, Advisors to the Prime Minister or Chief Minister or any other holder of public office shall not visit the area of any local council to announce any development scheme or to canvass or campaign for any candidate.”
The ECP urged the premier not to break any provisions of the election commission’s code of conduct or instructions, warning that “legal proceedings under Section-233 (code of conduct) and 234 (monitoring of election campaigns) of the Elections Act, 2017 shall be initiated against you.”
Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, the special assistant to the chief minister on media and public relations, said the launch of the Pakistan Card was a crucial step toward the prime minister’s objective of an Islamic welfare state a day earlier.
He had stated that during the prime minister’s visit, Pakistan Card would be launched, which would include the government’s welfare projects such as Ehsaas Ration Card, Health Card, and Kisan Card.
According to Barrister Saif, since the health card project had been started in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the prime minister planned to launch the Pakistan Card there as well.
