Caretaker Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz, who recently took over the added portfolio, said on Thursday general elections will take place in the country on February 8 “no matter what happens”.

He passed these remarks after a high-level huddle, called by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to overview the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.

“Elections are on February 8. No one should have any doubt regarding the polls,” Ejaz said while speaking to the media after the meeting.

On Wednesday, the electoral watchdog had summoned an emergency meeting for today amid the worsening law and order situation in the country ahead of the general elections 2024, scheduled for February 8.

The ECP had invited high-ranking officials from Balochistan and KP, including caretaker ministers, home secretaries, chief secretaries, Inspector General of Police (IGPs), and intelligence agencies’ officials to participate in the meeting.

The development comes after multiple attacks occurred in last few days.

In a blast in Quetta today, at least one person was killed on the CPEC road.

On Wednesday, a national assembly candidate for the elections was shot and killed in the tribal district along Afghan border, police said, amid fears of an uptick in violence around the parliamentary vote.

On Tuesday, at least four people were killed and five others sustained injuries in a blast at a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) rally in Balochistan’s Sibi.