Verification of voters in Karachi starts tomorrow

Campaign to be completed within 30 days; security forces to provide

cover to ECP staff

ISLAMABAD: The stage is set for door-to-door verification of 6.8 million voters across Karachi from Jan 10 and it is expected to be completed within 30 days, as the Army and other law-enforcement agencies personnel have moved in to safeguard the officials of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

As per the understanding reached between the ECP and military, Commander Five Corps would command the Army, the Frontier Corps and Rangers personnel being deployed in the mega city’s five districts, a senior ECP official told The News here on Tuesday. In line with the understanding, the deployment was to commence from January 5.

“The Election Commission had to approach the security agencies for cooperation in view of the peculiar security situation in the mega city, which unfortunately faces violence on a daily basis,” he contended.

Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim had a meeting with the Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani while the ECP Secretary Ishtiak Ahmad Khan had a meeting with the DG Operations at the GHQ in connection with the deployment of the army in Karachi and related matters.

The official explained that the army and other law-enforcement agencies would cooperate with the ECP officials involved in the electoral rolls verification (ERVs) drive. “The ECP personnel will go from door-to-door to verify the electoral rolls, check for the authenticity of voters and corrections in a secure environment to be provided by the military and law-enforcement agencies,” the official said.

He pointed out that security forces would be responsible for secure transportation of the ECP staff and voters lists to the intended destinations on the completion of exercise.The Supreme Court had ordered door-to-door verification of voters’ lists after several mainstream political parties alleged that several million voters, who had settled down in the port city during the last several years, had been registered in their respective native areas.

Some other related anomalies were also alleged, which led to the removal of Election Commissioner Sindh Sonu Khan Baloch, who was made the DG at the Election Commission Secretariat within a week, and later posted as Election Commissioner Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is estimated that around 18,000 personnel would be involved in the exercise.

Posted in: Top Story