QUETTA, Feb 7 (APP): Balochistan Caretaker Chief Minister Mir Ali Mardan Khan Domki on Wednesday visited the Provincial Election Control Room established at Home Department and reviewed the measures taken for holding general elections on February 8 in the province.
Additional Chief Secretary Home Zahid Saleem briefed the meeting regarding the steps taken to monitor the election situation. Commander-XII Corps Lieutenant General Rahat Naseem Ahmad Khan, Caretaker Home Minister Mir Zubair Khan Jamali, Provincial Election Commissioner Mohammad Farid Afridi, Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakeel Qadir Khan and other senior civil and military officials also participated on the occasion.
In the briefing, it was informed that the delivery of election material by air and road has been completed in all areas of the province, after which the process of handing over the election material to the polling staff has started.
The number of registered voters in Balochistan is 5,371,947. Control rooms have been set up in all divisions and districts headquarters to monitor the overall situation and restore peace during the election.
He said that around 70 percent work of the installation of CCTV cameras in the sensitive polling stations of the province linked to the central control room have been completed while the remaining 30 percent work will be cleared by Wednesday night.
The process of providing the election materials to the polling staff and sending them to the respective locations has also started from Wednesday evening.
He added that all the security agencies are active to maintain law and order situation during the general elections through mutual coordination. As many as 66,214 Jawans of Pakistan Army, FC, Police and Levies have been deployed across the province to restore peace during the elections.
Chief Minister Domki expressed his satisfaction over the arrangements and measures taken regarding the elections and said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the provincial government have provided the necessary funds to all the Deputy Commissioners for holding the general elections due to which it became easy to complete all the arrangements on time
The ECP considering the scattered population has provided additional resources to Balochistan as compared to other provinces, he added.
The chief minister said that ordinary crimes, acts of terrorism and incidents related to elections need to be looked at separately.
He said as compared to the previous general elections, the overall law and order situation in the recent elections in Balochistan was better than in the past and our security agencies foiled many acts of sabotage by taking timely measures.
He said people of Balochistan should exercise their right to vote without any fear, and for the restoration of peace, Pakistan Army and FC personnel will be present to support the police and Levies.