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| August 18, 2005 | Thursday | Rajab 12, 1426 |
Massive security measures taken
HYDERABAD, Aug 17: Around 9,000 policemen, in addition to 3,000 to 3,500 Rangers personnel, will be deployed for polling duty and maintaning law and order in six districts of the defunct Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions on Thursday.
Personnel of armed forces also started patrolling the Tando Allahyar district on Wednesday to avert any untoward incident on the polling day on account of expected close contest between Azad Magsi Ittehad and Awam Dost Panel candidates.
Tando Allahyar DCO Misbahul Haq confirmed that army personnel had arrived in the district but said they would be confined to peripheral areas of the district, patrolling main roads. They will move to any troubled areas if called.
An election cell has been established at the office of the regional police officer which will coordinate with the home department and the field staff in the six districts.
A police source said law enforcers would conduct a joint flag march in the district to create deterrence.
Around 900 policemen are being deployed in Tando Allahyar, over 2,000 each in Thatta and Sanghar, 1,500 in Mirpurkhas, 1,000 in Umerkot and 700 in the Tharparkar district.
According to the AIGP, around 40 per cent of polling stations in the six districts have been declared sensitive. Additional police force has been called from districts where polls will be held on Aug 25.
The public transport has disappeared as a large number of vehicles have been impounded by police for transportation of polling material and staff to polling stations.
Tando Allahyar is the newly-created district carved out of Hyderabad where a one-on-one contest is expected between candidates of the Awam Dost Panel and the Azad Magsi Ittehad, jointly supported by the Khushhal Pakistan Panel and the Haq Parast Group.
Reports also indicate that due to internal groupings of PPP leaders Abdul Sattar Bachani and MPA Syed Ali Nawaz Shah Rizvi, separate candidates of the ADP are contesting in some union councils in Tando Allahyar.
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