Peshawar: About 175 Frontier Constabulary (FC) squads will be provided to assist the police in providing security for the upcoming general elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad and Karachi, The News reported on Tuesday.
“We will provide 125 platoons for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 40 platoons for Islamabad and 10 platoons for Karachi police for security during general elections,” said FC Commander Moazzam Jah Ansari.
Besides, the KP police will also provide the required 34,000 additional personnel for security during the February 8 elections in the province, which has been severely marred by terrorism-related incidents.
“We need about 34,000 more police officers to ensure adequate security during the general elections. Besides enlisting the services of a large number of FC squads, the government and the force will engage manpower from many other departments to provide additional security personnel,” a senior KP Police official told The News.
The KP police recently beefed up security for political leaders who received threat warnings in the past few days. Police officials said they have taken adequate security measures for all important political leaders and their gatherings.
The other day, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) approached the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other relevant forums to ensure increased security for the party leadership during the election campaign. KP Police has been ordered to provide increased security for political leaders and their gatherings.
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The development came after the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) nabbed two alleged bombers and they were allegedly planning attacks on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Awami National Party (ANP) provincial president Aimal Wali Khan.
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.
