The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) expressed their support for the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to deploy the military to protect polling stations on 25th July, the day of the general elections.
PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah voiced his party’s approval of the decision, claiming that his party trusted both the army and the judiciary, and considered them reliable state institutions.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart Qamar Zaman Kaira, on the other hand, showed skepticism over the decision and said that the PPP would comment on the deployment of the army after the elections took place.
In a meeting held in Islamabad on Thursday, the ECP had decided to deploy army personnel inside and outside the polling stations to guarantee voter security for the elections.
In a press conference, the director general of the ECP also said that Closed-Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) would be installed in nearly 20,000 ‘sensitive’ polling stations, while the Commission would install multiple CCTVs in the polling stations that were most at risk.
The DG also claimed that it fell under the provincial government’s purview to guarantee the security of returning and district returning officers, while all political leaders would also be guaranteed maximum security.
