Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani has let the cat out of the bag by arguing that any presence of security forces on polling stations would “cast a shadow on free, fair and transparent elections”.

His statement that he issued yesterday in which he suggested that the security forces should be under the control of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) if accepted would help the influentials of the area to win the elections by hook or by crook or at any cost.

In my view, those harbouring such plans have been caught off guard by the sudden announcement of deployment of troops during polls.

The respected Senator is unfortunately trying to be too clever by half by stating, among other things, that “whereas the deployment of security forces is necessary for ensuring peace on the polling day, it is equally important that the security forces be beyond the precincts of the polling station”.

Bahzad Sindhu, (Lahore)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024