Morning News
13th July 1958
E. WING PARTIES WANT POLLS
TO BE PUT OFF MUSLIM LEAGUE ALONE
FOR ELECTIONS IN NOVEMBER
By a Staff Reporter
With less than a week left for the conference which the Prime Minister has called in Karachi to fix the schedule for the general elections most of the political parties in East Pakistan did not appear interested in holding the elections in November this year. The only political party which appeared firm on the question of holding the elections in November was the East Pakistan Muslim League. The East Pakistan Muslim League president, Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan, said last night that though no Muslim League leader from this province had been invited to attend the proposed conference, his party was in favour of holding the election in November this year. He also said that a formal resolution to this effect had already been adopted at the last meeting of the East Pakistan Muslim League organising committee. A top Awami source when contacted declined to comment on a Karachi paper’s report that the Awami League wanted to postpone the elections. He, however, maintained that November was not a suitable month for holding the elections in this wing. The elections could not be held before the year was out, he added. The NAP circles were non-comittal on the question. According to them there was no “scheduled date” as far as no deadline had been officially fixed for the polls. A prominent NAP leader, however, said that the most important aspect of the problem was the fixation the date. Once the date was asked, he said, nobody would “date delay the elections.” It may be recalled that the recent three-day meeting of the NAP organising committee had resolved that in fixing the dates the “climatic conditions of East Pakistan” must be taken into consideration. The KSP sources declined to make any comment at the present time. They pointed out that they had not decided the issue finally so far. They are expected to reach a decision after the return of Mr. Yousuf Ali Choudhry from Karachi.
It was however gathered that the KSP would like the elections to be held in February next year.