ECP takes notice of IG Punjab's transfer ahead of by-polls

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday took notice of the removal of Muhammad Tahir as Inspector General of Police for Punjab (IGP) and appointment of Amjad Javed Saleemi as his replacement.

Taking strong exception to the change of the Punjab police’s command just days before the crucial by-polls , the commission directed the Punjab chief secretary to come up with an explanation.

It said it had issued a clear code of conduct for October 14 by-polls and imposed a ban on the transfer and postings of top-ranking officials.

Earlier today, the Cabinet Secretariat issued a notification, announcing the transfer and posting of the new IG Punjab with immediate effect and until further orders.

According to the ECP, 11 seats of the National Assembly and 26 of the provincial assemblies are up for grabs in the upcoming by-elections.

It said that total registered voters in the country have now reached the figure of 106,000,239 with 59,243,889 male (55.89 percent) and 46,756,350 female (44.11 percent) voters.

The statistics of new amended electoral rolls shared by the ECP revealed that out of total registered voters 60,697,418 were from Punjab, 22,394,212 voters in Sindh, 17,839,845 voters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including FATA), 4,302,304 voters in Balochistan and 766,460 voters from federal capital territory.