• Sindh government has written a letter to ECP to postpone polls
• It cited a lack of security personnel to maintain law and order
• It said police personnel have been deployed in flood-affected areas

KARACHI: Sindh government has once again urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the local body elections in Karachi due to lack of security.

The provincial government has written a letter requesting the election commission to postpone local bodies election in Karachi for three months. Free and fair polls cannot be held without proper security, the government argued.

The letter states that Karachi is the most populous division of the country with a population bigger than Balochistan. It added that Karachi is a densely populated division/metropolitan city of the country and requires elaborate arrangements for holding elections for maintaining law and order.

At least 5,000 polling stations would be established to hold the LG polls, requiring at least 39,000 security personnel to maintain law and order, while the government only has 22,507 personnel to deploy for the LG polls, it added.

It further said 1,305 polling stations have been declared as “highly sensitive” and 3,688 “sensitive” in the city. Given the political history in Karachi, polling stations are classified as either highly sensitive or sensitive.

The letter further said thousands of Karachi police personnel are providing assistance in flood-relief operations in other districts of the province.

It said the provincial government requires 39,293 police personnel for static deployment along polling stations and other duties. Of this requirement, 12,465 are to be provided by the districts of Karachi and 10,042 by other units. However, the police has 22,507  personnel and a shortfall of 16,786 policemen.

Before the recent floods, it was planned that 14,958 police personnel would be provided from the districts of interior Sindh. It was also planned a reserve of 7,150 will be raised to fill this gap, it added.

However, in the post-flood situation, the Karachi Police has to provide additional support to the flood-affected districts. Moreover, it added that internally displaced people have moved to Karachi and personnel is required to provide them security

It said flood-affected people have been temporarily accommodated in schools in Malir district and surrounding areas which are also designated as polling stations.

It suggested that LG elections in Karachi should be kindly postponed for three months so that the elections can be conducted in a transparent manner without any law and order situation.

Earlier on October 10, the Sindh government suggested the ECP hold local government polls in Karachi in two phases or postpone them for three months.

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