PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Thursday decided to call out the army to control the law and order and security situation during the re-polls of the local government which is scheduled to be held on July 5 at 356 polling stations throughout the province.

The decision was taken during a high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Amjad Ali Khan, Home Secretary Arbab Arif, Inspector General KP police Nasir Durrani, Secretary Provincial Election Commission Babar Yaqoob and officials from the local government and military participated in the meeting.

According to sources, it was decided in the meeting that re-polling will be conducted under the supervision of the army to avoid rigging or further mismanagement.

The sources added that the decision of calling out the army during re-elections was taken under Article 245 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

The meeting also agreed that army personnel would remain inside and outside of the polling stations. The personnel will also be authorised to take action against any violation of the set obligations.

The officials also extended the duration of polling, which will start from 8 am and exceed till 7 pm.

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