Will not summon army unnecessarily for election: Azam Khan

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker interior minister Mohammad Azam Khan on Tuesday said the interim government will ensure transparent, peaceful election and will avoid summoning the army for help unless it was absolutely necessary.

Azam, who took charge as the caretaker interior minister after being sworn in as part of the six-member federal cabinet earlier today, told Geo News it is the responsibility of the interim government to hold free and fair election.

“We will fully support the Election Commission of Pakistan and utilise the interior ministry’s institutions to ensure peaceful, transparent election,” he said.

The caretaker interior minister added that they will not summon the army unnecessarily, unless the situation demanded it.

The law allows for summoning the army [for election] but it is only for extreme situations, he added.

He remarked that he was informed on phone he was being made the caretaker interior minister. 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, met with Interior Secretary Arshad Mirza at the Ministry of Interior earlier today. Following this, he held an informal meeting where he was introduced to officials at the Ministry of Interior.

Apart from him, the caretaker cabinet includes former governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Shamshad Akhtar, former Pakistan ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain Haroon, former senator Roshan Khursheed Bharucha, Mohammad Yousuf Sheikh, and Syed Ali Zafar.