PM to leave for London today to meet Nawaz

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will leave from France on Friday (today) for London, where he will remain for two or three days to meet with his elder brother, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

According to PML-N sources, senior leaders of the party will also participate in the meeting via video link.

They added that the participants of the meeting would hold a detailed consultation on the date of the upcoming elections, names of the potential caretaker prime ministers as well as other matters.

The sources said the participants of the huddle would also discuss the possible seat adjustments with allied parties in the upcoming general elections.

A day earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said 93,371 polling stations would be set up across the country for the upcoming general polls.

According to a draft of the scheme prepared by the ECP, a total of 49,871 polling stations will be established in Punjab for the general elections. Of the total, 14,960 polling stations in Punjab have been declared highly sensitive. Whereas, 9,974 polling stations in the province have been declared sensitive.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a total of 15,708 polling stations will be set up. Of these, 4,296 have been declared highly sensitive.

A total of 6,549 polling stations in the province have been declared sensitive.

In Sindh, 19,348 polling stations will be established. Of these, 4,823 have been declared sensitive.

Similarly, 5,015 polling stations will be set up in Balochistan.

According to the polling scheme prepared by the commission, 2,083 polling stations have been declared sensitive in the province.

A total of 1,041 polling stations will be established in the federal capital.

Of these, 326 have been declared highly sensitive.

Besides, 221 of them have been declared sensitive.

The election staff, including returning officers and assistant returning officers, will be appointed two months before the polls.

On Monday, the ECP held a high-level huddle, where it was revealed that the commission was fully prepared to conduct elections in the country as scheduled.

The commission has already procured election material for printing ballots.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja chaired the meeting, attended by the ECP secretary and other senior officers of the electoral body.

All the four provincial members of the ECP participated in the meeting through video link.

According to a statement issued after the meeting, the ECP secretary told the participants that the commission was in contact with all the departments, including the National Database Registration Authority, for preparation, printing, and transportation of electoral rolls.

The secretary said the ECP had purchased election material as well as paper for ballot papers and stored them in secure places.

(With input from our correspondent in Islamabad)