–Gen Bajwa says troops will perform election duties as mandated by ECP, will allow people to freely exercise right to vote
–ISPR DG denies army personnel have been issued ‘different orders’ for election, says security of candidates is ECP and govt’s responsibility
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Army on Thursday, once again, tried to allay concerns regarding its pro-active role in the general election 2018, with army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa reiterating that the troops will perform their duties in line with the mandate given by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
As elections draw near, there has been a widespread concern that the military is trying to manipulate the election and bring a “Sanjrani-like” prime minister. Political parties, especially the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), have pointed out on various occasion that the powers-that-be want their blue-eyed at the helm.
Gen Bajwa, who visited the Elections Support Centre in Rawalpindi, was given a “detailed briefing about the plan for the provision of assistance to ECP [for the smooth conduct of polls],” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
During the briefing, the army chief ordered his forces to ensure that people get an appropriate environment on polling day so that they could freely exercise their democratic right.
SENATE BODY SESSION:
Meanwhile, military’s chief spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor wrote off the impression about the military’s direct role in the general elections. This is the third time that the army had to clarify its role in the election.
Speaking at the special session of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior earlier in the day, the ISPR director general said the army is “only improving situation in the country for the elections”. As over 0.3 million soldiers are all set to secure elections, Gen Ghafoor said the military has also lent support to the civil institutions in past as well.
The rumours that the army personnel had been issued “different orders” regarding the polls are “completely baseless”, the major general said, adding that the army is working on the ECP’s directives to improve the law and order situation.
The army spokesperson, however, refused to answer PML-N Senator Kulsoom Parveen’s query, wherein she asked about the number of troops’ deployment in Balochistan, especially in wake of the deadly Mastung suicide bombing.
Instead, he responded: “Leave the planning side to us; we know how many troops have to be deployed. We have analysed every place from a security point of view. We have made deployments as per the need in Balochistan.”
As National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) and caretaker government in provinces and Centre haplessly try to contain the terror threat, Gen Ghafoor said though the army has taken over the overall security during the polls, the army won’t be directly responsible for the well-being of politicians.
“We are only responsible for the security during polls,” he said, adding providing security to the electoral candidates is the job of the election watchdog and the government of Pakistan. He said until performance and ability of the police improve, the military will have to do police duty.
As for Afghanistan, the neighbouring country has assured Pakistan of reciprocal support on the security front.
“When the elections took place in Afghanistan, we took extraordinary measures on this side of the border and Afghanistan has assured us of the same,” he said.
‘ARMY TO WATCH OVER BALLOT PAPERS’:
ECP Secretary Babar Yaqoob apprised the Senate body about the army’s electoral duties among other things.
He said that at least 800,000 security officials and 700,000 ECP staff will perform their duties, In order to avoid 2013 polls-like situation, the commission asked the army for help, he said, adding the army will keep a watch on ballot papers.
ECP has not given army a free role during the polls as they will work under the presiding officer at polling stations, he said.
In a reply to the question of PML-N’s Javed Abbasi, the decision to deploy military personnel inside and outside polling stations was taken in the light of “prevailing security situation” and threats to the polling stations.
The Senate session was presided over by the committee chairperson Senator Rehman Malik. Federal interior and defence secretaries, secretary ECP and several other government officials were also present in the meeting.
The country has faced three bomb attacks in the run-up to the general elections wherein over 150 people have been killed. Besides that, a number of politicians are on the hit-list as well whose security has become an issue for the authorities.