KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to form a Rapid Deployment Force to handle trouble spots and also to launch an operation against history-sheeters, criminals, miscreants and absconders from Thursday to ensure peaceful conduct of local government polls.

It was decided that a ban on keeping weapons would be enforced 48 hours before the start of polling on Nov 19.

The decisions were taken at a Sindh cabinet meeting, which was presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Wednesday to review measures for holding the next phase of the polls in a free and fair atmosphere.

Fifteen districts of Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad and Mirpurkhas divisions would go to polls in the next phase after the local government polls were held in eight districts of Sukkur and Larkana divisions in the first phase on Oct 31 amid security issues.

While briefing the media after the cabinet meeting, Senior Information Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said the decision to establish the RDF was taken to ensure peaceful holding of the next phase of LG polls.

The force comprising personnel of the Rangers, police and other law enforcement agencies would patrol areas so that they reach a trouble spot within five to seven minutes, the minister said.

Besides utilising the RDF for election security, a request would be made to the election commission to ensure that army troops were at the disposal of the Sindh government, he said. In this regard, a meeting of the chief secretary, home secretary and police chief with the chief election commissioner would be held on Monday.

The chief minister also constituted a three-member committee comprising IG Police, Rangers DG and commissioner which would examine and evaluate requirement of the number of troops and submit its report for deployment as per requirement.

In reply to a question, Mr Khuhro said the request for the number of army troops required for election duty would be determined during the meeting with the chief election commissioner.

The minister said the government had also requested the people who carried weapons with them to stop display of arms from Thursday. The government was making all-out efforts to strictly implement the code of conduct of the election commission as for holding free and fair election maintenenace of peaceful atmosphere was necessary, he added.

In reply to another question, the minister said there would be 7,098 polling stations in the 15 districts. He added that 2,820 of them were declared extremely sensitive, 5,571 were sensitive while only 1,707 were said to be normal.

Along with police, the Rangers would be deployed at the extreme sensitive and sensitive polling stations, while army would be on standby, the minister said.

In reply to yet another question, Mr Khuhro said the decision that RDF patrol the areas was taken in view of the fact that most constituencies in the second phase of the LG polls comprised villages and rural areas and it would have been difficult for the force stationed in district headquarters to reach troubled spots near polling stations.

Asked why the army was being called out when the Sindh government had enough police force and the Rangers strength, Mr Khuhro said that it was the demand of all political parties and stakeholders that the army be deployed to hold the elections in a peaceful atmosphere.

Earlier, the minister said that people used to blame the political government for not holding the local bodies elections. But now the elected government was holding the local bodies elections so that democratic system could reach the grassroots level and problems being faced by the people could be solved at their doorstep, their elected representatives could play their role in mitigating their difficulties and the bureaucracy hold could be curtailed, he said.

Mr Khuhro said that the local government elections in the eight districts of the province were held in a peaceful atmosphere, apart from the tragic incident of Daraza Sharif in Khairpur where 12 lives were lost.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play