The Pakistan army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) has excused itself from providing troops for security of elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by-polls and some National Assembly seats, citing ongoing wave of terrorism in the country.
The situation about unavailability of troops for the election duties has been conveyed by the Ministry of Interior in a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The top electoral body has announced by-elections on NA seats in March while a schedule for polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is expected to be announced in the coming days as the ECP is bound to hold polls within 90 days of dissolution of the assemblies.
In the letter, the ministry said threat alerts were being issued by the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) and intelligence agencies, adding that Pakistan witnessed some terror incidents that claimed several lives in the recent past.
It said the Pakistan Armed Forces were busy in tackling terrorism and protecting human lives, thus, they were unable to provide security cover for elections. It highlighted that terrorist outfits had issued threats to the political leaders of various parties. It feared that the political leaders could be targeted during the electioneering.
The ministry stated it had taken up the matter regarding security for elections with the GHQ but it was informed that army and civil armed forces were busy in border security and tackling internal security challenges in wake of terror activities. The GHQ further said security troops would also be deployed during the upcoming national census, adding that it would be unable to provide security for the elections.
