The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leg of PPP’s election campaign suffered a major blow on Saturday when the party was forced to scrap its planned rallies in Peshawar and Malakand due to the mounting security threats in the aftermath of the recent wave of terrorist attacks, DawnNewsTV reported.
With its chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in KP on a two-day visit, the PPP had planned to stage public gatherings in Peshawar but especially Malakand — a district it has historically done well in and whose NA-9 constituency he will be contesting the July 25 polls too.
Bilawal was scheduled to leave Peshawar for Malakand this morning, and lead a rally from Sakhakot to Batkhela before addressing a public meeting at Zafar Park in the evening.
However, KP and the neighbouring Balochistan have been hit by three major terrorist attacks this week, together claiming the lives of around 150 people.
As a result, KP’s district administration today refused to grant PPP the permission to go ahead with its planned events, and advised Bilawal to remain within the cantonment areas.
The party’s KP chapter secretary information, Senator Rubina Khalid, told DawnNewsTV that marathon discussions were held with the local administration and police but the permission was not granted.
Khalid reiterated the party’s complaint that the Election Commission of Pakistan and the interim government have failed to provide a level playing field to their party for general election 2018.
Bilawal, the senator said, will now meet local PPP leaders at their residences.
Source: Dawn
