RAWALPINDI: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has categorised 1,558 polling stations, out of 2,777 to be set up in Rawalpindi district for the upcoming Feb 8 general elections, as sensitive, official sources disclosed to Dawn here on Sunday.

       Out of these 1,558 polling stations, 580 have been placed in A-Category of “highly sensitive” whereas 978 have been declared “sensitive” and put in Category-B.

       Troops are likely to be deployed at the “highly sensitive polling stations” on the polling day, the sources said, adding that all station house officers (SHOs) of the areas where these polling stations will be set up have been directed to assess the security situation.

       The sources said that the decisions were made at a top-level meeting which had been convened to chalk out foolproof security arrangements for the polling day. The senior police officers have also been directed to hold meetings with returning officers (ROs) and assistant returning officers (AROs) and keep in contact with them regarding security arrangements.

       Besides this, the police officers have also been asked to provide an estimate about the number of CCTV cameras to be installed at the sensitive polling stations and also to identify the highly sensitive areas where the troops, Rangers and Quick Response Force (QRF) personnel would be positioned. They have also been asked to point out areas where the checkposts would be established and to identify the places where the reserve force would be stationed in stand-by mode.

       Every SHO, they said, had been instructed to secure surety bonds from those who wanted to organise public meetings and processions and to make sure that the location of such events was chosen with security in mind.

       All the events must be noted in the Roznamcha (daily report) of police stations of the areas where these events would be planned. The police officials have been warned strict departmental action if found absent from duty.

       Similarly, control rooms would be established to monitor the security situation when the polling material will be transported to the polling stations.

       There are seven National Assembly and 14 provincial assembly seats in the Rawalpindi district which has 3,307,083 registered voters.

       The ECP has already released guidelines for the efficient and transparent administration of the elections as well as for transportation of the polling staff, election materials and their safe transportation to and from the RO offices after the voting is finished.

       The ECP had already issued orders to complete all transportation and communication plans and other arrangements five days prior to the polling day and to share it with the provisional election commissioners who will submit it to the ECP central control room established in the Secretariat.

       Following the ECP’s guideline, the police and Regional Transport Authority claimed to have completed 90 per cent of the task of providing transport for the election duty.

       Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2024