Islamabad, March 14 : The Ministry of Defence informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday that due to the current situation in the country, the Pakistan Army will not be available for election duty this year. The ministry emphasized that the security of the borders and the country is the army’s first priority.
During the ECP’s third session regarding the elections of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies, Defence Secretary Lt General (retd) Hamood Uz Zaman Khan and Additional Defence Secretary Major General Khurram Sarfaraz Khan briefed the commission about the current situation of the country.
The officials apprised the participants of the session about the situation on the borders and the deployment of the army in the country, along with the overall law-and-order situation. They also clarified that if the army is assigned election duty, troops would be deployed in quick response (QRF) mode and static deployment of troops would not be possible.
It should be noted that on the orders of the Supreme Court, the polls for the Punjab Assembly elections will be held on April 30. KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali has also announced May 28 as the date for elections in the province following a meeting with the ECP and President Dr Arif Alvi.
(Islamabad51-NewsDesk)
