Caretaker Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Mir Afzal said that the army’s assistance will not be required during the legislative assembly elections.
Addressing a press conference, he said the army will not be deployed for security during the Legislative Assembly elections scheduled for 15th November.
He said that the services of police and paramilitary forces would be utilised to maintain the law and order in the region. “We will prove that police and paramilitary forces have full capability to provide security during elections,” he said. “We will set an example for the whole country by conducting the GB elections without the army,” he added.
He clarified that army officials could be posted in sensitive areas depending on the conditions. Afzal said the caretaker government is neutral and would investigate any evidence of rigging.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) banned the prime minister and other government officials from visiting GB until elections have been held.
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan, in a press conference, said that according to the rules of conduct of the election commission, no government official could visit the region or run an election campaign.
He said the PML-N had lost control of its workers and was now levelling allegations of “political engineering” against the ECP. Expressing the resolve to conduct “transparent elections at any cost”, Khan said help would be taken from GB Scouts, Rangers, police and Frontier Corps.
