LANDI KOTAL, May 7: Around 15,000 security personnel will be deployed at nearly 1,200 polling stations across the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to ensure peaceful elections in the region and prevent voting under duress.

Talking to a group of journalists from Fata and Peshawar on Tuesday, additional chief secretary (ACS), Fata, Dr Tashfeen said that the army, Frontier Corps, Frontier Constabulary, tribal khasadar and Levies forces would be deployed at all the polling stations, including some 500 polling stations declared very sensitive.

“The number of security personnel at each polling station would vary depending on sensitivity of a particular station,” he said and added that the number could be from five to 35 at different places keeping in view the status of the polling station.

The Fata ACS said that elections would be held in all the seven tribal agencies and six Frontier Regions, and it would be contested on all the 12 National Assembly seats.

“It is to our advantage that a large number of FC and army troops are already deployed in Fata and it is also their desire to assist the local administration and the Election Commission of Pakistan in holding free, fair and secure elections in Fata,” he said.

Dr Tashfeen said that respective political agents had divided various agencies into a number of sectors for facilitating maximum number of voters to cast their votes in a secure atmosphere.

“A sector will comprise 10 to 25 polling stations established at places which could be easily accessible for voters and for the security personnel to take care of the situation,” he said.

He said that all these sectors were configured in such a manner that the quick response force (QRF) would require a maximum of 12 minutes to reach a place of emergency.