Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman and Inspector General PunjabPolice Usman Anwar Wednesday showed reluctance in conducting peacefulelections in the province immediately, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja presided meeting over theconduction of a peaceful general election in the province.
Chief Secretary Punjab said that according to the requirements of theElection Commission, a force of around 412854 men is needed for theconduction of peaceful elections and Punjab police have only 115000 men inthe force which creates a deficit of around 300000 men. To make up thisshortfall, the services of the Pakistan Army and Rangers will be needed andtheir deployments are indispensable for the conduction of peacefulelections.
He ensured that the transparent conduct of the election will be donekeeping in mind the instructions of the Election Commission and theobservance of the constitution and laws. He said that the provincialgovernment has started preparations for the by-polls of the NationalAssembly, a security plan for the general elections and installation ofCCTV cameras at sensitive polling stations and also said that control roomswill be established in every district across the province.
While talking about the severe danger of terrorism in the province, he saidthat Law enforcement agencies are highly needed to maintain law and order.Quoting the rallies during the polls, the start of the census in March,exams in schools and the polio campaign, he said that availability of staffwill be difficult.
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Chief Secretary Zaman urged that the Election Commission gets the electionsof both the national and provincial government on the same day otherwisethe expense on the polls will be doubled and the law enforcement agencieswill also not be able to provide fool-proof security. While quoting theexpense of the conduction of peaceful elections, he said that the cost willbe a whopping Rs42 billion.
Chief Election Commissioner said that the appointment of neutral officersduring the elections is very necessary. The provincial Government mustensure that the elections in the province are held in a free, fair andpeaceful environment.
IG Punjab Usman Anwar said that the police were attacked in the Mianwalidistrict and police operations are ongoing in southern Punjab and otherdistricts as well. It will be a difficult task to conduct the provincialassembly elections in the province till the police operation is completed,said IG Punjab
