Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi has said that the government was all set to hold free and transparent elections on February 8, Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday.

The caretaker government has been consistent from day one that elections would be held on the date given by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), he said while addressing a news conference in Islamabad.

Ample resources have been provided to ensure a free and fair election, Solangi said, adding that the government has made foolproof security arrangements on the polling day for the voters at the polling stations.

According to the info minister, the police will be responsible for providing security as the first tier while the Civil Armed Forces will be there as the second tier and the Armed Forces of Pakistan will assist in the peaceful conduct of polling as the Quick Reaction Force in third tier.

As per Solangi, a total of more than 128 million voters including over 50.9 million women voters will exercise their right to vote for 266 general seats of the National Assembly.

As many as 92 international observers would also cover the election process in the country, he said.

Replying to a question about allegations of PTI founder Imran Khan, the information minister said Pakistan was a free country and everybody has every right to criticize including the caretaker government and the courts.

“Media is free and they have been venting their descent and have every right to criticize any judgment of the court,” he said.

Responding to a question, Solangi said that the terrorism and law and order situation was not something new for the country. “This is decades decades-old thing. After the fall of Kabul when Taliban took over, terrorist activities increased drastically and different factions of terrorists, hiding in safe sanctuaries in Afghanistan.”