Like other parts of the country, the law enforcement agencies on Tuesday beefed up security arrangements by deploying a heavy contingent of Punjab Rangers in the provincial capital in order to hold peaceful general elections 2018 today (Wednesday). According to Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore B A Nasir Khan, over 35,000 cops including 25 superintendents of police (SPs), 50 deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) and 200 inspectors will perform security duties on the Election Day. The cops will discharge their duties in coordination with personnel of the paramilitary forces, he added.
He said each polling station will be monitored through CCTV and drone cameras by personnel of the LEAs. The police officers will remain on high-alert during elections, he added. "Although there are significant threats of militancy, but the police department will ensure peaceful elections at any cost," the CCPO vowed.
The CCPO further said strict action will be taken against individuals found violating the Election Commission's code of conduct. "We would not allow anyone including contesting candidates and their supporters to take law into their hands," he warned. He urged the cops to behave gently with the voters at polling stations.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) Shahzad Akbar also disclosed that the security plan has been divided into three categories. According to the post-election plan, he said, the police party will take control over the winning or losing candidates and their supporters if they found violating the SOPs.
Meanwhile, the Lahore police launched a mobile application which enabled field cops to share latest updates of polling stations with their high-ups for effective monitoring of security related-matters. The personal information of all cops including their names, designations, place of posting, mobile numbers and residential addresses have also been incorporated in the application.
DIG Shahzad said the information of the polling stations was added in the application after completion of their geo-tagging. "Through this, the cops would be able to locate any polling station," he said, adding it will also help them to ensure proper attendance of their subordinates.
"We have also introduced 'panic button' feature in the app through which the field cops would send an alert in case of emergency," the DIG said, adding that personnel of concerned police station and teams of the Police Response Unit (PRU), Dolphin Force and Anti-Riot Force (ARF) will reach the emergency site soon after pushing the panic button.
He further said that transportation of food to police officers at polling stations will also be monitored through this application. "This application will significantly benefit the cops in discharging their election duties," he hoped.
On the other hand, the City Traffic Police (CTP) also devised a comprehensive plan to maintain a smooth flow of traffic during the Election Day. Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Liaqat Ali Malik said all traffic arrangements have been finalised to provide hassle-free corridor to voters and commuters on the eve of elections.
He directed all the SPs to brief wardens about the importance of this day and sensitivity of their job. Malik said the wardens should keep an eye on every suspicious person and unclaimed or unattended items report immediately to their high-ups for taking further legal action.
According to him, a clear and separate path for emergency vehicles including ambulances will be created. "Food and chilled clean drinking water will be provided to the wardens at their duty points," he assured.
He said 10 emergency teams have been formed to restore uninterrupted flow of traffic in case of blockades of roads by supporters of winning candidates to celebrate their victory. He requested the people to park their vehicles away from the polling stations. "Citizens should avoid wrong-parking and one-way driving," he urged.
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