PESHAWAR: In view of the current security situation, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has requested the federal government for additional staff for the upcoming general elections scheduled for February 8, The News reported on Wednesday.
In this regard, an important meeting was held in Peshawar to review the preparations of the provincial government for holding the elections, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister KP Syed Arshad Hussain Shah.
In addition to KP ministers Dr. Aamir Abdullah and Advocate Mian Feroz Jamal Shah Kakakhel Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhary, Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur, Additional Chief Secretary Home Muhammad Abid Majeed and other relevant officials attended the meeting.
Division commissioners and regional police officers also participated in the meeting via video link.
Security precautions
The meeting was informed that 11 security personnel would be deployed in all sensitive polling stations in the southern belt and amalgamated constituencies of the province, while seven security personnel would be deployed in all sensitive polling stations in the rest of the constituencies.
Similarly, seven security personnel would be deployed at each of the sensitive polling stations and four security personnel at each of the normal polling stations in the merged and southern constituencies.
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While in the rest of the constituencies, five security personnel would be deployed in each sensitive and four in each normal polling station. It was further informed that the provincial government would need a total of 115,430 security personnel to hold the general elections, while currently only 89,959 police officers are available, thus the government was facing a shortage of 25,471 security personnel.
However, it was said that the Ministry of Interior has been asked to provide four more wings of the Border Guard and 165 platoons of the Border Police as well. It was informed that 26,213 additional security personnel have been arranged so far from various provincial departments on the special instructions of the caretaker chief minister.
A Command and Control Center has been set up in the Home Department to monitor law and order during the elections and a District Contingency Plan has been prepared by the Police Department.
Over 15,000 polling stations are to be created in KP
On the other hand, the meeting participants were also informed that, for the first time, general elections to the national and provincial assemblies will be held simultaneously in the established and merged districts of the province.
Elections would be held for 45 general seats in the National Assembly and 115 general seats in the KP Assembly in the province.
For this purpose, a total of 15,737 polling stations would be set up across the province, out of which 4,812 polling stations were declared as most sensitive, 6,581 as sensitive and 4,344 as normal.
It added that 1,919 polling stations would be set up in the snow-covered areas of the province. The total number of registered voters in the province is 21,692,381.
The government will do “everything” to ensure that the vote is held peacefully
Similarly, rescue emergency plans and health emergency plans are prepared for the upcoming general elections. CM Shah said that the provincial government would do everything to conduct the general elections in a peaceful, fair and transparent manner.
He directed all Divisional Commissioners, RPOs, Deputy Commissioners and DPOs to ensure the implementation of plans and decisions of the state government in letter and spirit for this purpose.
Over the last few years, the law and order situation has deteriorated in several parts of KP, especially the southern districts, with an increase in attacks on police, security forces and civilians.
Terrorists also attacked some political figures and gatherings in several parts of the province.
Senior police officials said the situation has improved in other parts of the province, while efforts are underway to improve law and order in the southern districts.
