ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: With security concerns weighing heavy on its mind, the local administration has asked transporters to arrange more than 100 buses to carry polling staff and security personnel on the election day, February 18.
“We need more buses this time because the polling staff will be taken to polling stations under strict security,” a senior officer of the administration told Dawn on Thursday.
It is for the first time that security escorts would be needed to take the staff to the 370 polling stations set up in the federal capital territory’s two constituencies, NA-48 and NA- 49.
Twenty of these polling stations have been declared “sensitive” by the security departments. They are all located in the capital’s rural areas - Golra, Malpur and Sihala.
Contingents of the army, Rangers and Punjab police would assist the capital police and administration in maintaining peace during the election.
Islamabad’s deputy commissioner said extra police force would be deployed at the “sensitive polling station” but sought to calm the nerves by adding that the tag ‘sensitive’ did not mean that there existed “a serious situation”.
About 2,500 polling staff would supervise the balloting process at the 370 polling stations having 508 polling booths in the capital’s two constituencies of National Assembly, according to sources in the Election Commission.
An election monitoring and control centre would be set up in the Islamabad Model College for Boys, F-8/4.
Informed sources said the federal government had asked the provincial governments and the federal capital administration in December whether they needed paramilitary forces and troops to maintain law and order during upcoming polls.
Caretaker Interior Minister Lt-Gen (retired) Hamid Nawaz told mediapersons on Wednesday that nobody would be allowed to create law and order situation during the polls. He warned that stern action would be taken against anyone who tried to sabotage the election process.
