ISLAMABAD, Feb 17: Fearing bloodshed in many areas on the polling day, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Sunday asked Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retired) Qazi Mohammad Farooq to seek deployment of the army in many sensitive constituencies, especially in Gujrat, Bahawalnagar and Nawabshah.

Speaking at a news conference, PPP’s Election Monitoring Cell chairman Senator Sardar Latif Khosa and coordinator Nazir Dhoki regretted that despite repeated requests, the government was not ready to deploy the army where voters were feeling highly insecure due to “the use of force by the Pakistan Muslim League- Quaid (PML-Q) candidates”.

Senator Khosa said if the PML-Q attempted to use force in Gujrat on the polling day, then “our people will not be wearing bangles”. Only the government will be responsible, if there was bloodshed on the election day, he added.

The PPP leader said the CEC had the powers under the constitution to call in the army in any area to maintain law and order and ensure peaceful polling.

“If the government does not demonstrate sanity, then the February 18 will be a horrible day for Pakistan,” he warned.

Senator Khosa alleged that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had changed location of nine polling stations in Nawabshah, from where Dr Azra Fazal, the sister of Asif Zardari, was contesting. He said the polling stations had been shifted to far flung areas at the eleventh hour.—Staff Reporter