ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Army troops have been deployed in all districts of Gilgit-Baltistan for maintenance of peace and security in the upcoming elections for the region's Legislative Assembly.

The polls for Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly are scheduled to be held on June 8 and the administration fears law and order situation at the polling stations in the region.

Earlier in May, the administration had approached the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), recommending that the body requisitions military deployment at polling stations in the region’s Gilgit and Diamer districts.

“Army troops have been requisitioned by the Election Commission of Pakistan and the civil administration,” a short statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Also read: Electoral hurdles

The statement added that troops have been deployed across GB with the mandate of maintaining law and order during the elections.

The upcoming elections are also fraught with concerns relating to pre-poll rigging. Allegations are being levelled against the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) by a number of political parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), a new entrant in GB elections.

In fact, the PTI had also demanded that GB’s Legislative Assembly elections be held under the army’s supervision to check possible rigging.

More on this: Territorial limits

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