PPP Senator Raza Rabbani said on Wednesday that any presence of security forces within the precincts of polling stations would “cast a shadow on free, fair and transparent elections.”

In a statement, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, Rabbani said that security forces should be under the control and supervision of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs).

“Whereas the deployment of security forces is necessary for ensuring peace on election day, it is equally important that the security forces be beyond the precincts of the polling stations,” he said.

He further said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) must ensure that these two principles and the law were strictly followed.

“In the past, when both these elements were ignored it led to controversial elections,” he said.

The statement comes a day after the caretaker federal cabinet approved dep­loy­ment of troops and civil armed forces personnel on polling stations and sensitive constituencies during the Feb 8 general elections.

Sources told Dawn the interior ministry had mov­ed a summary to the cabinet, suggesting the deployment of the army as a quick response force to maintain peace and security, ensuring a smooth and transparent electoral process.

The cabinet in its meeting, chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, approved the summary, which said the army troops and civil armed forces to be deployed in sensitive areas will also serve as a rapid response force.

In fact, the deployment of troops was demanded by the ECP, citing a shortage of 275,000 security officials required for the election duty.

The ECP had already written to the interior ministry mentioning a shortfall of 277,558 security officials needed to ensure safe and secure polling nationwide.

According to information received by the ECP from the federal and provincial governments, there was a shortfall of 169,110 personnel in Punjab, 18,500 in Sindh, 56,717 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 13,769 in Balochistan and 4,500 in Islam­abad. The letter requested immediate arrangements for deploying Pakistan Army and other security forces at polling stations.

The commission had reportedly mentioned a specific case of Islamabad, where a shortfall of 4,500 personnel threatened to disrupt the electoral process as the available security staff was 4,500 against a requirement of 9,000.

The ECP sought deployment of army personnel amidst a surge in militant attacks, killing more than 700 security personnel and civilians in the first nine months of 2023.