6,000 cops to be deployed on election duty

RAWALPINDI:

More than 6,000 police personnel will be on security duties in the cantonment elections in five cantonment boards of Rawalpindi district.

Rawalpindi police have devised the security plan considering the code of conduct issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for cantonment elections. Operations SSP Rai Mazhar Iqbal will serve as the supervisory officer while Rawalpindi City Police Officer Muhammad Ahsan Younis will perform the duties of Commanding Officer.

All polling stations in five cantonment boards have been divided into A, B, and C categories. The police elite commandos will be deployed at all polling stations.

The police personnel will perform security duties until the delivery of polling material and the culmination of the process. Sources said that the police will have the control of entrance and exits of all polling stations to ensure the implementation of the code of conduct issued by ECP.

Under the security plan, the candidates of political parties will set up election camps 100 feet away from the polling stations. There will be a complete ban on the parking of vehicles and motorcycles on the premises of the polling stations as well.

There will be a complete ban on the display of weapons in polling stations while the voters or activists chanting slogans and causing bedlam will be arrested immediately. The women police personnel will be deployed at the entrances of polling stations designated for females to deal with any untoward situation. Other security agencies will also remain on high alert.

Read More: CEC apprised of Cantonment Board election concerns

A joint security control room will be set up in the CPO office to ensure security arrangements in all five cantonment boards.

Sources said that all polling stations have been divided into three categories. The stations in the A category are placed in the sensitive category and will be monitored by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. The voters will enter polling stations without mobile phones, and legal action will be taken against voters possessing weapons, knives, or any sharp tool.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2021.