AJK elections acted as a super spreader for Covid-19: Asad Umar
- Says he had recommended postponing AJK elections for a couple of months
- Since the elections, the positivity rate of AJK is running between 25 percent and 30 percent, adds NCOC head
Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has said that the elections of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) acted as a super spreader event for Covid-19.
In a tweet on Thursday, Umar said: "Had recommended that AJK elections get postponed for a couple of months and a special vaccination campaign run before the elections."
He pointed out that since the elections, the positivity rate of AJK is running between 25 percent and 30 percent.
Earlier, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), which is headed by Umar, had reportedly written a letter to the AJK chief election commissioner, stating that due to the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, the polls should be delayed as large political gatherings could lead to further spread of the potentially deadly virus in the state.
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However, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) opposed the idea of postponing the elections, saying the Constitution has no such provision.
The opposition parties had said that according to the AJK Constitution, the postponement was not permissible at all. Later, the elections were held as per the schedule.
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