ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Wednesday approved transfer and posting of chief secretaries and Inspector Generals of Police (IGPs) of all four provinces to ensure impartial and transparent elections.
The decision was made at a special meeting of the cabinet chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Justice (retired) Nasir-ul-Mulk in Islamabad today.
A day earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan wrote to the Establishment Division to replace CSs and IGPs of all provinces.
Akbar Hussain Durrani has been appointed as chief secretary of Punjab, whereas Azam Salman Khan, Akhtar Nazir, and Naveed Kamran Baloch have been made chief secretaries of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, respectively.
The cabinet also allowed transfer and posting of IGPs in all the four provinces. Kaleem Imam was appointed as IG Punjab, Amjad Javed Saleemi as IG Sindh, Muhammad Tahir as provincial police chief of KP, and Mohsin Hassan Butt IG Balochistan.
These appointments were made after consultations with the Election Commission of Pakistan and the provincial governments.
The Commission will hold an important meeting in Islamabad on Thursday (June 14) regarding security arrangements for upcoming general elections.
It will be attended amongst others by the provincial election commissioners, chief and home secretaries and Inspector General’s of all the four provinces.
Last month, the ECP had reviewed progress over procurement of security cameras for installation, provision of missing facilities at polling stations and availability of sufficient polling staff.
It was informed during a meeting, attended by chief secretaries of all provinces, that security cameras would be installed at most sensitive polling stations during the upcoming general elections for four days.
It was decided that heightened security measures will be taken for the upcoming general elections keeping in mind the recent attack on former Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal.
“Providing security at the polling stations is a big challenge,” ECP Secretary Babar Yaqoob was quoted as saying during the meeting. He said the ECP risked sabotage if any of the returning officers (RO) faced any kind of security risk.
Leave a Comment