KARACHI: Caretaker Information Minister Ahmed Shah on Tuesday said that the Sindh Apex Committee, a forum of top civil and military officials, had not so far taken any decision to suspend internet and mobile phone service on the day of polling on Feb 8.

Briefing reporters about the meeting of the apex committee, he said it had not deliberated on the suspension of mobile services, indicating no immediate concern regarding this matter.

He said that zero tolerance would be shown towards the display of arms during the election and those displaying arms would be arrested and booked.

He said that the meeting was informed that the deployment of army for ensuring fair and free polling had been completed.

He said that Corps Commander Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar informed the meeting that army troops had been dispatched all over the province to serve as the third tier during the general elections.

Mr Shah said that the meeting, chaired by caretaker Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqar, was informed that there would be a total of 19,008 polling stations, including 5,657 ‘normal’, 6,550 ‘sensitive’, and 6,801 ‘highly sensitive’ ones.

He said that Inspector General of Sindh Police Riffat Mukhtar shared the police deployment plan, stating that four policemen would be deployed at a ‘normal’ polling station, five at a ‘sensitive’ one, and seven at a ‘highly sensitive’ polling station.

The minister said that a total of 143,156 policemen would be deployed at the polling stations.

Additionally, the Rangers and Army would be deployed as Quick Reaction Force (QRF) at selected ‘highly sensitive’ polling stations, in addition to the police.

To find your constituency and location of your polling booth, SMS your NIC number (no spaces) to 8300. Once you know your constituency, visit the ECP website here for candidates.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2024