The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has summoned an emergency meeting tomorrow (Thursday) amid the worsening law and order situation in the country ahead of the general election 2024.

“The ECP has called an emergency meeting tomorrow (Thursday, February 1) at 3:00pm in the wake of worsening law and order situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ahead of the general elections 2024,” the electoral watchdog said in a statement on Wednesday.

The meeting will be attended by high-ranking officials from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), including caretaker ministers, home secretaries, chief secretaries and Inspector General of Police (IGPs), it added.

The electoral watchdog has also invited officials of the intelligence agencies to participate in the emergency meeting.

The development comes after a series of terrorist attacks on political gatherings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

At least 4 dead, 5 injured in blast at PTI rally in Balochistan’s Sibi

Earlier today, the ECP postponed elections on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s National Assembly’s NA-8 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s PK-22 constituencies after a PTI-affiliated candidate was gunned down.

Rehan Zeb Khan, who was contesting from NA-8 and PK-22, was shot dead in KP’s Bajaur district while travelling to Sadeeqabad Phatak for election campaign when unidentified assailants opened fire on him.

Taking notice of the incident, the ECP sought a report from the KP Chief Secretary and Inspector-General of KP police.

This is the second attack on PTI’s electioneering within 24 hours. A day earlier, a bomb ripped through a PTI rally in Sibi, leaving at least four people dead and five others injured, according to police and witnesses.