As many as 392 polling stations in Karachi and Khairpur have been declared sensitive from security point of view for by-elections that are scheduled for five constituencies of the two cities later this month.
A high-level meeting with Sindh Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah in chair reviewed security arrangements for by-polls at the Sindh Secretariat on Friday. A total of around 1,432,000 voters are registered to cast votes in the upcoming by-elections for the two National Assembly and as many Sindh Assembly constituencies of Karachi and one Sindh Assembly constituency of Khairpur.
The by-elections will be held in two stages. The elections for NA-243 Karachi District East, PS-30 Khairpur and PS-87 Karachi District Malir will be conducted on October 14, while for NA-247 Karachi District South and PS-111 Karachi District South, the polls will be held on October 21.
The chief secretary directed the relevant departments to install closed-circuit television cameras at the 1,490 polling booths of the 392 sensitive polling stations in Karachi and Khairpur. Fool-proof arrangements should be made to ensure security and due implementation of code of conduct issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan during the polling process for the by-elections, the chief secretary said. He also directed the relevant authorities to provide emergency health facilities at the polling stations.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Kaleem Imam assured participants of the meeting that the police force will take all the required steps to ensure security during the by-polls. According to the IGP, the police force is ready and fully equipped to maintain law and order during the by-polls. He also maintained that the law and order situation in Karachi has been improved.
Provincial Election Commissioner M.Yousuf Khatak, ACS Health M.Usman Chahar, Home Secretary A. Kabeer Kazi, Karachi Commissioner Sualeh Farooqui, Sukkur Commissioner M. Rafeeq and other senior officers also attended the meeting. The deputy commissioners of the districts where the by-elections are to be held, have been assigned the responsibilities of the district monitoring officers for the electoral process.