The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to deploy soldiers of the Pakistan Army to maintain law and order during the second and crucial phase of the local government elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P)
According to the top poll organising authority, it is also considering deputing the army personnel for a re-election in the province
In this regard, the ECP has decided to write to the Ministry of the Interior
The election watchdog further said that the police remained unable to control the chaos at the polling stations and that they played the role of a silent spectator
The authority also said that the plan has been devised to ensure a peaceful electoral activity
It was reported last month that the polling staff had voiced their serious concern over the security arrangements of the K-P government for the local bodies’ elections scheduled for December 19 and demanded the deployment of the army to ensure maximum security during the polling
Also read: Foolproof security ordered for 2nd phase of LG elections The staff had complained to the ECP that the provincial government had failed to deploy a sufficient number of policemen for the security in the polling stations and the army may be deployed for the purpose
They had expressed their fears during the training process with the authority
It is worth mentioning here that 35 people were killed in the 2015 local bodies’ elections in K-P and this time too only five policemen have been deployed at the most sensitive polling stations which are not enough
Two days ago, the ECP had rejected a plea made by the PTI-led provincial government to postpone the election – scheduled for March 27 – in the province till May
The provincial government as well as political parties had requested to reschedule the election, citing the prevailing weather conditions
| Date: | 06-Jan-2022 | Reference: | View Original Link |
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