More than half of all polling stations deemed ‘sensitive’ in Pakistan: Reports

Sources told Dawn News that out of the total 90,675 polling stations being established across the country, as many as 46,065 (just over 50 per cent) of them have been categorised as sensitive, with 18,437 of them highly sensitive.

The total number of ‘sensitive’ and ‘most sensitive’ polling stations in Punjab comes to 18,620 (or 40.42pc). These include 12,580 categorised as sensitive and 6,040 categorised as being most sensitive. Just over 32,000 of the total 50,944 polling stations in Punjab have been declared ‘normal’, the Pakistani newspaper reported.

In Sindh region, there are 6,545 ‘sensitive’ and 6,524 ‘most sensitive’ polling stations.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the number of ‘sensitive’ and ‘most sensitive’ polling stations is 10,309, which include 6,166 ‘sensitive’ and 4,143 ‘highly sensitive’. The total number of polling stations in the province is 15,697, of which just around one third (5,388) are considered normal, Dawn News reported.

A senior official of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) told the Pakistani newspaper that these statistics were tentative and might see some changes after the submission of security plans by the respective district police officers (DPOs).

Pakistan is scheduled to vote in the national polls next month.