Counting continues: Army enters neighbourhoods, doesn’t make it to the door

ISPR insisted the army personnel guarded neighbourhoods but did not go door-to-door.

KARACHI:

After the opposition parties raised hue and cry over what they called was a botched verification of electoral rolls, the army was seen on Tuesday standing guard in some neighbourhoods.

The election commission workers are completing the second phase of the voter verification process that began on January 10. Several political parties expressed, however, their reservations that the process was being carried out without the help of the army and Frontier Constabulary, which was against the Supreme Court orders.

On Monday, the chief election commissioner, Fakhruddin G Ebrahim had assured the protesting parties that the army would be called in, but the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) - the media wing of the army - gave no confirmation. On Tuesday, the ISPR spokesperson insisted that the army was not called in for door-to-door verification, but it did provide security in some areas.

“Our troops are in contact with the election commission staff, including assistant registration officers, in every area and they visit on their request,” he said.

Nevertheless, the provincial election commissioner, Mehboob Anwar, told The Express Tribune that the armed forces not only started patrolling in different areas, but accompanied the enumerators to the doors in five districts of Karachi.  “The personnel have visited around 30 electoral areas along with our enumerators,” he said. These areas included Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Hijrat Colony, Nazimababad, Malir SITE, North Karachi, Saddar and Clifton.



The army has also established a control room at the office of election commission where they get updates from the field. They move their troops wherever they are required, he added.

“The troops will be enhanced today (Wednesday). Each and every house cannot be visited, but the army’s help will be sought in most sensitive areas,” he said. Anwar reminded that Tuesday was not the first day that the army helped the election commission staff. They have been with us since January 10, he said. “We requested the army on Monday to send more troops following the protests and sits-in by opposition parties.”

Meanwhile, the political parties are still unsatisfied over the level of army presence. “The election commission is creating problems on the directives of federal government,” claimed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz general secretary Saleem Zia. “This is not sufficient. We will continue our protest against the on-going voter verification process.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2013.