Pakistan's election commission extends date for filing nomination papers

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday has announced an extension in the deadline for filing the nomination papers to run in the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. March 29th was the last date for the submission of the nomination papers as per schedule given by the ECP for upcoming general elections on 11th May in the country. Earlier, the ECP announced an extension of two days in the dates for Balochistan province only but then it announced the extension of the date till 31st May for all provinces, official sources said. The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place from April 1-7, while three days (April 8-10) will be set aside for appeals. The final list of candidates will be released on April 19 according to the schedule announced by ECP. According to the official sources, the commission has also bound the candidates to spend from a single account for their campaigns. The ECP has given the contestants the deadline of April 4 to open their bank accounts for election expenditures. The limit of expense is set by the ECP and all the contestants are bound to send a weekly expense report to the commission. Caretaker Prime Minister Justice (Retired) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Thursday said that he was committed to holding free and fair general elections in the country, directing the Ministry of Interior to firm up all necessary arrangements to achieve this national objective, official media reported.