The caretaker federal cabinet on Tuesday approved deployment of troops and civil armed forces personnel on polling stations and sensitive constituencies during Feb 8 general elections. The Interior Ministry had called for the deployment of the army as a quick response force to maintain peace and security, ensuring a smooth and transparent electoral process.
The cabinet in its meeting, chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, approved the summary, which okayed that army troops and civil armed forces to be deployed in sensitive areas will also serve as a rapid response force. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had asked for army’s support, citing shortage of 275,000 security officials, required for the election duty.
According to information received by the ECP from the federal and provincial governments, there was a shortfall of 169,110 personnel in Punjab, 18,500 in Sindh, 56,717 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 13,769 in Balochistan and 4,500 in Islamabad. The letter requested immediate arrangements for deploying Pakistan Army and other security forces at polling stations.
The commission had reportedly mentioned a specific case of Islamabad, where a shortfall of 4,500 personnel threatens to disrupt the electoral process as the available security staff was 4,500 against a requirement of 9,000.
The ECP sought deployment of army personnel amidst a surge in militant attacks, killing more than 700 security personnel and civilians in the first nine months of 2023.
January 24,2024
Source: Dawn