LAKKI MARWAT: District police officer Asif Gohar on Wednesday asked the election candidates to secure prior permission from the district administration for holding their public and corner meetings and share the schedule of such meetings with the area police.

In a notification apparently issued in the wake of Tuesday’s attack on an election gathering in Peshawar wherein ANP leader and provincial assembly candidate Haroon Bilour was killed, the district police chief said that the poll candidates did not take prior permission from the administration nor they share schedule of their meetings with the police.

“Seeking prior permission for holding election meetings by candidates is mandatory so that the area police could make proper security arrangements at the venues,” Mr Gohar said, warning that violators would be reported to the monitoring officers appointed by the Election Commission of Pakistan for implementation of the code of conduct.

Lakki DPO assures contenders of security

Meanwhile, the police and elders in Lakki city agreed to maintain law and order and ensure implementation of the election code of conduct during the ongoing campaign for general elections.

The understanding came at a meeting held at the police station in Lakki city on Wednesday. SHO Altaf Wazir and sub-inspector Ayaz Khan represented the police in the meeting attended by area elders, councillors and election candidates.

The police authorities sought help from the elders to maintain peace during the election campaign and on the polling day. They said that cooperation of the area elders would be helpful in checking violation of the election code of conduct and persuading supporters of the candidates to avoid indulging in display of weapons and other violations.

In Swabi, the police in a meeting here on Wednesday decided to take strict security measures for maintenance of peace during the election process. The meeting presided over by district police officer Khalid Hamdani and attended by DSPs and SHOs was held in the wake of Tuesday’s suicide attack in Peshawar.

Officials said that the contesting candidates would be bound to inform the police about schedule of their meetings so that timely security arrangements could be made for them. They said that the meeting discussed taking steps for boosting security of the candidates and workers of various political parties.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2018