PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ghulam Ali on Thursday said it didn`t matter whether the elections were held on time or after a delay and that the priority should be accorded to finding solution to the serious issues facing the country.

He also said the Election Commission of Pakistan and the federal government lacked funds and the KP government `administrative resources` to hold polls.

`We need to understand the serious issues the country is con-fronted with right now. All political parties will have to jointly decide about their solution.

Holding elections on time or after a delay does not matter, the governor told reporters during an annual function at the Government College Peshawar.

Mr Ali claimed that former membersoftheNationalAssembly from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf were opposed to the holding of separate elections to national and provincial assemblies.

`When they [PTPs ex-MNAs] contacted me, I told them to tell this [opposition to separate polls] to your leader [PTI chairman Imran Khan],` he said.

The governor said during a recent meeting, he apprised the ECP officials of the provincial government`s security concerns regarding assembly elections.

He added that teams of the ongoing digital population cen-sus were recently attacked in Tank and Lakki Marwat districts of the province.

About the recent clashes between the PTI workers and police in Lahore, Mr Ali said a negative message was being sent out to the youth.

`What message do the youth get when political parties violently react to court decisions? Political leadership should sit down to find solutions to the problems,` he said.

The governor said political issues should not be taken to the courts and that the state shouldn`t be weakened.

On Tuesday, the governor fixed May 28 as the date for election to the provincial assembly without officially communicating the move to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

`My job is to fix the date for elections in the province, whileit`s the domain of the election watchdog [ECP] to conduct polls, he told reporters after meeting Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja in the federal capital on March 14.

The governor said the meeting with the ECP officials was held in a `good atmosphere` and that he cited the delicate law and order situation in the province as `a real problem.

He said the police came under a terrorist attack in Lakki Marwat district.

`The Election Commission [of Pakistan] and government are bound to follow the orders of the Supreme Court,` he said.

The governor also said the residents of KP had reservations about the digital census being carried out in the province.

OnMarch5,GovernorGhulam Ali voiced reservations about the Supreme Court`s ruling thatelections to the Punjab and KP assemblies should be held within 90 days of their dissolution and said if any untoward incident occurred during that time, then those who made that election decision would be to blame.

He wondered if the apex court examined the `security concerns` raised by the provincial government amid a surge in terrorist activities in the province.

The governor claimed that a high-level meeting attended by the provincial chief secretary, police chief and relevant officials had already briefed caretaker Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan about the delicate security situation in the province.

They told the CM that additional security personnel would be required to ensure the smooth holding of elections as well as protection of politicians during election campaigns.