Army deployment in Quetta, Karachi on cards: Interior Minister

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Interior Minister, Malik Habib said Saturday that he had received the mandate to conduct elections on time.

The caretaker interior minister added that the stance of politicians to delay elections was their personal opinion.

Malik Habib met with Director General Military Operations during which security during and after the elections was discussed. It was decided that the army would be ready as a quick response force during the elections in sensitive areas. The DG Military Operations assured the caretaker interior minister that the civil administration would be given complete support during the elections.

Speaking to Geo News after the meeting, Habib said that the deployment of the army at every polling station was a non-professional approach. He added that if there was an incident on polling stations it would create a negative image of the army. The caretaker interior minister added that the army could be deployed at Hazara Town in Quetta and sensitive areas of Karachi.

The caretaker interior minister informed that the list of sensitive polling stations had not yet been received and that no one would be allowed to display weapons including the private guards of politicians.