The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday said the armed forces would be deployed outside the “most sensitive polling stations” during general elections on February 8.

The announcement came two days after the caretaker federal cabinet approved the deployment of army personnel.

In a notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the commission said it was its duty to organise elections and make arrangements “to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against”.

It said the ECP had obtained the services of the armed forces for assistance in ensuring security arrangements for the conduct of the general elections. The notification detailed the responsibilities of the armed forces during the polls.

“Pakistan armed forces/civil armed forces shall assist in the provision of a secure environment by deploying in Quick Reaction Force mode and outside selected most sensitive polling stations from Feb 5 to Feb 10 to assist the ECP in conduct of free, fair and transparent elections,” the electoral watchdog said.

The civil armed forces, it continued, would remain deployed at the Printing Corporation of Pakistan and Pakistan Post Foundation — both in Islamabad — from Jan 12 to Feb 8 to make “comprehensive arrangements during the printing, stacking and storage of ballot papers”.

The election commission said the armed and civil armed forces should provide assistance in security during the transportation of ballot papers and election material from printing presses to respective offices of district returning officers.

The ECP notification further specified that the armed forces should deploy an adequate number of mobile vigilance teams across all constituencies, forming a “tiered security mechanism” to ensure a secure environment. In this system, the police would function as tier-1 responders, followed by civil armed forces at tier-2, and the army at tier-3, the ECP added.

It also said that the armed forces should carry out reconnaissance of each constituency from the date of issuance of the notification as per their need.

“The armed forces shall also provide security during transportation of election material from offices of returning officers to polling stations and back, after completion of polling and counting,” the notification stated.

The ECP added that it had also authorised each designated officer in-charge of armed forces and civil armed forces to exercise powers of magistrate first class for the entire period of deployment in respect of offences punishable under Sections 176, 177, 183 and 194 of the Elections Act 2017.

On Tuesday, the government approved a summary pertaining to the deployment of military and civil armed forces personnel at polling stations and sensitive constituencies “in order to maintain peace and security” during the upcoming general elections.

The deployment of troops was demanded by the Election Commi­ssion of Pakistan (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 the 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.