Speaking to media, Mr Haideri said, “Today, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) invited the JUI-F to discuss the matters in line with the elections. The JUI-F made it clear to the electoral watchdog that the party wants transparent elections in accordance with the constitution.”

“The JUI-F wants such elections in the country that the entire nation will be on the same page,” he added.

Speaking about Balochistan, Mr Haideri asserted: “Efforts were made to delete the increase in the population of the province”.

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On the other side, the chief election commissioner (CEC) today decided against meeting the president, in response to a letter Dr Arif Alvi wrote to Sikandar Sultan Raja inviting him for consultation on a date for elections.

Sources said this was decided in an important meeting of the ECP to deliberate on the president’s letter written to the CEC.

The chief election commissioner has written his own letter to the president in response to an invitation for a meeting on the elections date.

The letter stated that under the Elections (Amendment) Act 2017, only the election commission is responsible for giving a date for polls.

Under an amendment in the Elections Act, certain changes were made to its Section 57. Previously, the president was mandated to be consulted before announcing the elections date. But now that responsibility solely rests with the election commission.

The CEC further said in the letter that if the assembly was dissolved under Article 58(2)(b), then the right to announce elections would rest with the president.

Raja wrote that the constitutional references mentioned in the president’s letter were irrelevant.