KARACHI, April 25: District Coordination Officer Shafiqur Rehman Paracha said on Thursday that the Election Commission was setting up 7,500 polling stations in Karachi and in this connection the people would be facilitated in the referendum in the best possible manner.

He made these remarks at a meeting at which Sindh Chief Secretary Javed Ashraf Hussain reviewed the preparations of the referendum.

The Sindh chief secretary asked Mr Paracha to take measures to ensure that the referendum was held in a peaceful manner and the people had the opportunity of expressing their opinion.

“The Election Commission has kept this factor in mind that the people have the opportunity of casting votes near their places of dwelling,” said the DCO.

He added that polling stations would be established in all government schools, government dispensaries, offices of union councils. In those areas where such buildings were not available the polling stations would be set up by installing tents at prominent positions. He said Union Council Nazims and other officials had been instructed to help the people cast their votes. He said the Union Council Nazims and other officials would help the people reach the polling stations as well.

Mr Paracha said because the referendum day was no holiday the government had set up polling stations in all government offices, such as hospitals, airport, Sindh Secretariat, Income Tax, KPT, City Government, Railway offices, etc. He added that 40,000 people had been deputed at these polling stations and they were being trained.

In order to make the polling stations prominent, he added, the polling stations would have banners and local councillors would guide people.

He said the referendum would be held in a most transparent manner. For the monitoring of the voting, he said, area representatives and responsible people would be at the polling stations.

Home Secretary Brig (retd) Mukhtar Ahmed, IG Sindh Syed Kamal Shah, Capital Police Chief Asad Jahangir also attended the meeting.