The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has formally requested the assistance of the Pakistan Army in maintaining law and order during the upcoming general elections scheduled for February 8 next year.
As political parties intensify their preparations for the impending polls, the ECP has finalized the delimitation of constituencies for the national and four provincial assemblies, notifying the final list. The election schedule is expected to be announced later this month, 54 days prior to the polls, as per legal requirements.
Security concerns during the elections prompted the ECP to seek a report from all inspector generals of police on the availability of police personnel. The responses indicated a significant shortage, with Islamabad lacking 4,500 personnel, Punjab 169,110, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 56,717, Sindh 33,462, and Balochistan 13,769, totaling 277,588.
Expressing concerns about the deficiency in police personnel, ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan, in a letter to the Ministry of Interior Secretary Aftab Akbar Durrani, proposed the requisitioning of the Pakistan Army and civil armed forces (CAFs) in “static mode.” The armed forces would be deployed at polling stations to ensure the smooth conduct of elections in the face of the country’s “fragile security cum law and order situation.”
The ECP secretary urged the interior ministry to provide information on the availability of the army and CAFs before December 7, seeking the ministry’s support in this “national cause.”
