LAHORE: The provincial caretaker government in Punjab has announced the deployment of army troops and Rangers personnel for the upcoming general elections in Punjab to ensure security during the electoral process.
This decision was made during a meeting between Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja and the caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, along with his cabinet members. The primary goal is to ensure “free and fair” elections. The meeting was attended by various ECP members and government officials, all working together to ensure the success of the upcoming elections.
As per the announcement by Punjab caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir, a significant deployment of around 147,000 army and paramilitary personnel will be involved in election security duties. Approximately 7,000 out of 50,000 polling stations in Punjab have been designated as sensitive.
The meeting reaffirmed the commitment to conducting the elections “on time” and with transparency. However, no specific date for the polls has been finalized as of yet. The ECP had previously suggested that the elections might take place in the last week of January 2024.
Both the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have been urging the ECP to provide a specific election date, expressing concerns about the ECP’s intentions. They speculated that the date might be announced once the legal issues involving PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif were resolved.
Amir Mir also mentioned that the Punjab government is actively preparing for the elections in 147 national and 297 provincial assembly seats. Any reported shortcomings in the preparations will be addressed before the elections.
The meeting conducted a comprehensive review of the arrangements made by the ECP and assessed the readiness of the Punjab government for the upcoming elections. Security measures were also discussed, emphasizing the commitment to ensuring peaceful, impartial, and fair elections. A focal person will be designated to coordinate with the ECP in this regard.
CEC Raja emphasized the collective responsibility of ensuring that the elections are conducted “freely and fairly within the stipulated time frame.” The delimitation phase is expected to be completed by November 30, 2023, and the ECP is ready to oversee the elections. Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi pledged unwavering support to the ECP and expressed the intention to implement foolproof arrangements for transparency in Punjab.
