Pakistan: Army will not be available for election duty due to security situation, defence ministry tells ECP

Islamabad: The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that the Pakistan Army will not be available for election duty during the upcoming provincial elections in the wake of the worsening security situation in the country, noting that the security of the borders and the country was the army’s “first priority”.

Elections in the Punjab province are scheduled to be held on April 30 while the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor proposed to hold elections in the province on May 28.
Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Hamood Uz Zaman Khan led a team of his ministry in a meeting chaired by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.

During the ECP’s third session regarding the elections of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies — chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja — Defence Secretary Lt General (retd) Hamood Uz Zaman Khan and Additional Defence Secretary Major General Khurram Sarfaraz Khan briefed the commission about the current situation of the country, Geo news quoted a press release issued by the ECP as saying.

Pakistan has been witnessing a sharp rise in terror incidents for the last few months, which have taken the lives of several people, and as a result, the security forces have upped the ante against militants across the country.

The officials of the defence ministry apprised the participants of the session about the situation on the borders and the deployment of the army in the country, along with the overall law-and-order situation.

“They said that the Army attaches importance to its basic duties, in which the security of the borders and the country is its first priority. They said that the Army is not available for election duty at this time due to the present situation in the country,” the ECP press release read.

The defence secretary also said that finally, it would be the government’s decision if it wanted to keep the military restricted to its primary duties or appointed it for secondary tasks such as election-related duties.

“They also clarified that in case of election duty, the Army can be deployed in quick reaction force mode but it is not possible to perform duty in static mode,” according to the statement.
The defence ministry officials said that the current economic situation of the country was also affecting the Army.

Army personnel traditionally have played a key role in keeping the peace during elections.
However, the attacks by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan rebels have increased in recent months, forcing the Army to make adjustments in its deployment of troops.

Without Army troops, it may be difficult to maintain law and order during elections.
Pakistan has been witnessing a sharp rise in terror incidents for the last few months, which have taken the lives of several people, and as a result, the security forces have upped the ante against militants across the country.

With inputs from agencies.

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