Karachi LG polls: JI chief demands deployment of armed forces

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ensure the timely organisation of Karachi local government (LG) polls and deployment of armed forces, ARY News reported on Monday.

While addressing the JI candidates’ convention today, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman asked ECP to ensure the timely organisation of Karachi LG polls. He demanded ECP make a clear announcement to hold Karachi LG polls on October 23.

He demanded the deployment of the Pakistan Army and Rangers at each polling station across Karachi. He also asked ECP to take notice of the advertisement campaign worth millions by the Sindh government.

Naeemur Rehman said that the Sindh government’s ad campaign was a violation of the election code.

He said that Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) tried to address the issues to the masses in all eras. He added JI did politics on the basis of honesty.

Earlier, the Sindh government urged the election commission to postpone the local body elections (LG Polls) in the metropolis citing a lack of security personnel in the city.

According to the letter written by the Sindh government to the ECP, the government has urged to postpone the LG polls in Karachi for three months. Free and fair polls cannot be held without proper security, the government argued.

The letter read that Karachi is the most populous division of the country with a population bigger than Balochistan. At least 5,000 polling stations would be established to hold the LG polls, requiring at least 39,000 security personnel to maintain law and order.

While the government only has 22,507 personnel at hand to deploy for the LG polls, it added. The are 1,305 extremely sensitive and 3,688 sensitive polling stations in the city, the letter read.

Thousands of Karachi police personnel are providing assistance in flood-relief operations in other districts of the province. Moreover, many internally displaced people have moved to Karachi, and personnel is required to provide them security too, it added.

Earlier on October 10, the Sindh government suggested the ECP hold local government polls in Karachi in two phases.