PPP urges CEC to stop troops posting inside Gothki polling stations

Islamabad: Secretary General Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians Farhatullah Babar and Secretary

General Pakistan People’s Party Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari have urged that Election Commission of

Pakistan to reconsider its decision of posting troops inside polling stations in NA-205 Gothki in the interest

of free and fair elections.

Farhatullah Babar and Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari addressed a press conference at the PPP Media Office

Islamabad alongwith Nazir Dhoki and Wasif Syed on Friday.

Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said that the elections in Gothki have already been postponed for five day as

initially it was to be held at 18th July but they will now be held on 23 July. Holding elections is the sole

responsibility of Election Commission of Pakistan and army should not be deployed within the polling

stations, he demanded.

Farhatullah Babar said that how the elections can be called free, fair and transparent when voting is conducted

under the gaze of troops.

He said that official report says that there are a total of 289 polling stations in NA-205 Gothki out of which

125 have been declared extremely sensitive and 164 sensitive which means every polling station will be

manned by troops.

The PPP is surprised over this decision. Even in elections in tribal areas, not all polling stations have been

declared sensitive despite the fact that recently this area was termed as ‘petri dish of international terrorism’ but all the polling stations in Gothki have been declared either extremely sensitive or sensitive where troops

will be deployed inside the polling stations.

He further said that declaring polling stations sensitive is obviously based on reports of state’s security

agencies. It is apprehended that some agencies may have deliberately created misperception of exaggerated

security threat in Gothki to justify posting of troops inside polling stations. If that is so then it would raise

some serious questions on the conduct of July 23 polls in Gothki.

Farhatullah Babar said that the PPP is opposed to posting of troops inside polling stations anywhere, any time.

He urged the ECP to reconsider the decision of posting troops inside polling stations in NA-205, in the

interest of vote-cast in a free and fair manner.

Secretary General PPPP has also written a letter addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner. The letter was

received by the ECP.