The Sindh government on Tuesday once again told the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that it is unable to release enough police personnel to ensure security for another three months for the upcoming second phase of local elections in the province.
The second phase of local elections in and around Karachi and Hyderabad has already been postponed three times.
In a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday, Sindh Deputy Secretary Manzoor Ahmad Kunrani expressed the inability of the provincial government to hold the second phase of local elections.
In a letter written in response to a letter sent by the ECP seeking a report by November 1 on the Sindh government’s preparations for holding elections, Kunrani wrote to Additional IG Karachi and Inspector General of Police. , referred to reports received from Sindh.
The IGP said in the letter, “Informed about the shortage of police in Karachi Division.”
“Conducting the elections will require more human resources,” the IGP said, explaining that according to the scale of deployment, he would have at least eight officers around the ‘highly sensitive’ polling stations and for each polling station. It will be necessary to deploy four sensitive
“Besides, police from other districts are still unavailable due to flood duty for at least three months,” the IGP said.
Additionally, the IGP said that around 5,000 police officers from Sindh have been deputed to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police on the request of the Federal Interior Ministry to “manage law and order in Islamabad.” Can.”
Further, the IGP said that his personnel are also engaged in providing security for the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive for children aged 5 to 11 years.
Additionally, Karachi Police is also busy with the upcoming 11th International Defense Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS-2022) where several national and international delegations are expected to participate in the event.
“These obstructions, as informed by the Home Department based on detailed police reports, will not help in the smooth, transparent and peaceful conduct of the LG elections,” Kinrani’s letter concluded.
This letter has been written in response to the letter sent by the ECP to the Sindh government regarding the holding of the second phase of local body elections in the province.
The ECP said that he intends to conduct local elections in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions as soon as possible to fulfill his constitutional responsibility.
