Pakistan Information & News

Pakistani election officials announced Wednesday that they were delaying parliamentary elections for six weeks until Feb. 18 because of the violence and chaos that followed the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.The elections had been scheduled for Jan. 8, but Qazi Mohammed Farooq, head of the election commission, said it would be impossible to hold the polls on that day.Election officials reported that rioters in Bhutto’s home province of Sindh burned down 10 election offices, destroying the voter rolls and ballot boxes inside. The violence also halted the printing and distribution of ballots.

Pakistan is a Federal Republic and is known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It came into existence on 14th August, 1947. The territories of Pakistan comprise the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, North-West Frontier and Balochistan, the Islamabad Capital Territory i.e. the Federal Capital, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs) and such states and territories as are or may be included in Pakistan whether by accession or otherwise. It has a population of approximate 160 Million and a territory spread over 7,96,096 square kilometers.

The Election Commission of Pakistan was created on 23rd March 1956 under the Article 137 of the Constitution of 1956 with the Chief Election Commissioner as its head. The first Chief Election Commissioner was appointed on 25th June 1956. The Election Commission of Pakistan is an independent and autonomous constitutional body charged with the function of conducting transparent, free, fair and impartial elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies. The holding of elections to the office of the President and the Senate are, however, the functions of the Chief Election Commissioner. Under the existing laws the conduct of Local Government Elections is also the responsibility of the Chief Election Commissioner.

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