ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: The Elect-ion Commission rejected on Mon-day a Sindh government request to hire private security guards for assisting police during elections.

The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Qazi Muhammad Farooq.

Sindh home secretary in a letter to the CEC had cited shortage of manpower for security duties. According to him it was allowed in the 2002 elections, but EC secretary Kanwar Dilshad said the commission observed that no such arrangement had been approved in previous elections.

He said that 47 political parties had applied for election symbols.The Tehrik-i-Insaaf of Imran Khan has not applied for the symbol, while the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and Jamaat-i-Islami have applied separately.

Pakistan Muslim League (Qasim Group) led by Syed Kabir Ali Wasti, which merged with the Pakistan Muslim League after 2002 elections, has sought a separate symbol.

The other parties which have applied for allocation of symbols are: Awami National Party, Haza-ra Qaumi Mahaz, Labour Party Pakistan, Mohajir Kashmir Move-ment, Muttahida Qaumi Move-ment, Pakistan Muslim Alliance, Pakistan Awami Party, Pakistan Democratic Party, Pakistan Free-dom Party, Pakistan Gharib Party, Pakistan Ittehad Tehreek, Paki-stan Muslim League (N), Pakhto-onkhawa Milli Awami Party, Pakistan People’s Party (Shaheed Bhutto), Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao), Pakistan People’s Par-ty Parliamentarian, Qaumi Taha-ffaz Party, Seraiki Sooba Move-ment Pakistan, Sunni Tehreek, Tameer-i-Pakistan Party, Tehrik-i-Istaqlal (Rehmat Khan Wardag), Balochistan National Party (Awa-mi), National People’s Party, Awa-mi Himayat Tehreek Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakis-tan Muslim League (F), Tehrik-i-Istiqlal (Muhammad Ikram Nagr-a), National Party, Pakistan Aman Party, Jamiat Ahle-Hadith Pakis-tan (Elahe Zaheer), Pakistan Citi-zen Movement, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Inqalab, Pakistan Qaumi Leag-ue, Bedar Pakistan, Pakistan Soc-ial Justice Party, Pakistan Qaumi Party, Azad Pakistan Party, Sindh United Party, Pakistan Bachao Party, Pasban, Hazara Democratic Party, Pakistan Muhafiz Party, Nizam-e-Mustafa Party and Markazi Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan.

The scrutiny of nomination papers for most of the constituencies was completed on Monday. Appeals against acceptance or rejection of nomination papers will be decided by election tribunals by Dec 14.