GILGIT, Oct 1: The Northern Areas administration has declared at least 143 polling stations as sensitive before the forthcoming elections for Northern Areas Legislative Council and the local bodies.

The sources said that they had already declared 121 polling stations as sensitive in the remaining four districts of the region, but in Gilgit district the local authorities were indecisive in assessing and calculating the number of the sensitive stations in Gilgit as this district has remained prone to the worst sectarian-motivated clashes in the past.

They said that the number of sensitive polling stations is higher in Gilgit as compared to the total sensitive polling stations in the four districts. The sources said the highest number of sensitive polling stations had been declared in NA-VI Hunza of Gilgit district despite its calm and peaceful socio-political environment.

An official of the Northern Areas Election Commission said that the sensitivity was calculated on the basis of previous record, political differences, personal enmity and politico-cultural tensions and Gilgit district had an uneasy past in this regard.

When contacted the Northern Areas election commissioner Muhammad Ghazi Khan told Dawn that they had increased number of polling stations from previous 878 to 904 according to the increased number of voters, inhospitable geographical landscape and complaints lodged by the candidates in the rural belts of the region.

He said that they had arranged postal ballot papers and delivered them to all the deputy election commissioners in the four districts on Friday except in Gilgit district where recollection of election data had always been a difficult task despite being the regional headquarters. He said for postal ballots the candidates are required to apply 10 days before the commencement of the elections days/notification.