Sensitivities: Only 11 polling stations declared normal in Peshawar

ECP terms more than 6,000 K-P polling stations ‘sensitive’ or ‘most sensitive’

PESHAWAR: Only 11 polling stations out of a total 996 in the provincial capital have been declared normal by the Election Commission of Pakistan, while the rest are either ‘sensitive’ or ‘most sensitive’.

According to a list compiled by the ECP, the local government elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would be conducted at 11,154 polling stations of which 4,425 polling stations were normal while the remaining 6,729 were either sensitive or most sensitive.

Charsadda and Tank do not have a single polling station that was declared normal.

Peshawar

As per the list, there will be 2,146 polling stations in Peshawar Division. The areas falling under its jurisdiction include Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera districts. Of the total, 340 are normal, while 945 are most sensitive and 861 are just sensitive.

Kohat

Similarly, in the Kohat Division, which comprises Kohat, Karak and Hangu districts, there are a total of 952 polling stations of which 549 are normal in terms of security, while 131 are most sensitive and 272 are sensitive.

Bannu

In Bannu Division, where Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts are located, there are 844 polling stations and only 259 are normal, while 376 are sensitive and 209 are most sensitive.

Hazara

The Hazara Division, comprising Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Battagram and Torghar districts, has a total of 2,186 polling stations and 942 of these were declared normal. At the same time, the division has 894 stations that are sensitive, while 350 are most sensitive.

DI Khan

Over in DI Khan Division lies the volatile Tank district. The division has 827 polling stations of which just 190 are normal, 274 are sensitive and 363 are most sensitive. Tank itself has 156 most-sensitive polling stations.

Malakand

Malakand Division with Swat, Shangla, Buner, Lower and Upper Dir, Malakand and Chitral under its wing has 2,490 polling stations. Of these, 1,388 are normal, 698 are sensitive and 404 are most sensitive.

Mardan

Mardan Division, which includes Swabi and Mardan districts, has a total 1,709 polling stations in which 557 are normal, 696 are sensitive and 456 are most sensitive.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2015.