Six polling officers arrested in Sindh for opening postal ballot papers

KARACHI: Six polling officers were arrested On Saturday night in the Sanghar and Sehwan districts of Sindh after they were caught trying to open postal ballot papers.

The arrested officers include assistant returning officer (ARO) Qurban Ali Memon, Muhammad Saleh a clerk at the local tehsil office, senior clerk Abid Ali, junior clerk Mohammad Aslam, and two teachers Ghulam Mustafa Solangi and Abdul Aziz.

According to the spokesman of Sindh caretaker chief minister (CM) Fazal-ur-Rehman, the CM has directed the senior superintendent of police (SSP) Jamshoro and the deputy commissioner to investigate and submit the incident report.

Members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the government along with officials of the armed forces not posted in their home constituencies, jail inmates and people with disabilities have been granted the postal ballot facility by the ECP. 

1.6 million electoral staff to be on duty 

Polling is expected to begin on July 25 at 8am and conclude without any break at 6pm. The timings for the polls was revised by the ECP last month in order to ensure maximum turnout amid the summer heat.

As many as 12,570 candidates will be contesting for a total 849 seats of national and provincial assemblies in the general election.

Out of the total 85,307 polling stations across the country, 20,831 polling stations have been declared sensitive.

The election management body has stated that 1.6 million electoral staff will be working on election day.

According to the ECP, there will be 449,465 policemen deployed on the day of the election out of which 202,100 will be posted in Punjab and Islamabad while 100,500 policemen will be stationed in Sindh.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 87,269 policemen will be on duty, according to the ECP.

Moreover, there will also be 300,071 army personnel will also be deployed across the country.