ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammad Azam Khan on Tuesday said the interim government would ensure transparent and peaceful elections while avoiding summoning the army for any help unless it was necessary.
Azam, who took charge as the caretaker interior minister after being sworn in as part of the six-member federal cabinet of Justice (r) Nasirul Mulk, told a private media outlet that it was the responsibility of the interim government to hold free and fair elections.
“We will fully support the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP),” he said and added that the law allowed summoning the army [for elections] but it was only for extreme situations.
He said that he was informed on phone he was being made the caretaker interior minister and he did not see it coming and had not asked anyone for the post, he added.
Azam, who is a former chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), met Interior Secretary Arshad Mirza at the Ministry of Interior on Tuesday. Following this, he held an informal meeting where he was introduced to officials of the ministry.
