Nine days to go: ECP spells out election security plan

50,000 troops will serve as Rapid Response Force; PM places National Crisis Management Cell under ECP control.

ISLAMABAD:

With just nine days to go for the historic vote, the election authorities have spelled out the highly anticipated security plan, which will see army troops deployed as a ‘Rapid Response Force’ in every constituency to ensure the first democratic transition of power takes place peacefully.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s security plan for all provinces, at least five officials from police and other law-enforcement agencies will be deputed at ‘normal’ polling stations, seven at ‘sensitive’ polling stations and 10 at ‘highly sensitive’ polling stations.

Each army squad will comprise 20 to 30 soldiers as part of the contingency plans that will be deployed within minutes at any polling station in case of any untoward incident.

“This plan of deputing five personnel on every single polling station will not be applicable to all stations. There is no one formula,” a senior ECP official told The Express Tribune. He revealed that the army has agreed to provide 50,000 troops as part of the security arrangements for May 11. Law-enforcers will be deployed on May 10.

Responding to a question, the official said the number of sensitive polling stations in the country numbered over 20,000. The process of printing of ballot papers, he said, would be completed on May 5 and their delivery would begin the next day.

Elaborating on the security plan, the official said that maintaining law and order and providing security was the job of provincial governments and therefore, the decision in terms of the number of security officials would be taken by the provincial governments.

“The provincial governments and local administration can depute the security personnel as per their requirement. This number can be much higher according to the need of the area,” the official added.

Following the announcement, the Punjab government has said it will deploy 265,000 policemen at 40,628 polling stations in the province. It has also decided to install closed-circuit television cameras in and around the polling stations.

PM Khoso places crisis cell under ECP

Earlier in the day, Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso decided to place the National Crisis Management Cell, presently working under the interior ministry, at the disposal of the ECP.

The move comes a day after the ECP blamed the executive responsible for providing security to the candidates and maintaining law and order.

“This decision (to place the cell under ECP) was taken by the prime minister to allay concerns raised by the ECP regarding the law and order situation and is consistent with its policy to assist the commission in the conduct of general elections in a free and fair manner,” said a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.

“The prime minister has reiterated the resolve to provide security to political leaders and candidates and maintenance of law and order in the country.”

The National Crisis Management Cell is repository of various assets of the country which include representatives of intelligence agencies and specialised services, says the press release.

“Though the maintenance of law and order is a provincial subject, the federal government has been extending all possible assistance to the provincial governments in this regard,” it adds.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2013.