PESHAWAR: Amid stringent security and adequate arrangements, polling for 45 General Seats of National Assembly and 115 general seats of Provincial Assembly remained largely peaceful across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday.
Owing to security concerns, mobile phone services temporarily remained suspended during polling day throughout the KP.
According to details, polling of votes of Election 2024 peacefully concluded in KP. However, voters inside polling stations were allowed to exercise their right of franchise.
The counting of ballot papers started in the presence of polling agents of the candidates. The 45 forms of results would be displayed at polling stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Polling began from 8:00 am, which continued till 5:00 pm without any interval across the province amid reports of clashes and exchange of harsh words between workers of various political parties.
Long queues of people including young, women and elderly were seen outside polling stations in several constituencies across the province. A total of 15,697 polling stations have been established in KP, while the number of polling stations reserved for men and women are 4,810 and 4,286 respectively. 6,610 joint polling stations set up for men and women in the province.
Over 12,000 policemen supported by the platoons of Frontier Constabulary were deployed for security during the elections in Peshawar.
Out of 15, 737 polling stations were set up for polls across KP, only 4,344 stations, less than 28 percent declared normal. On the other hand 4,812 polling stations had declared most sensitive while 6,581 had declared sensitive for the upcoming general elections.
At least four police officials have been martyred and six injured in a bomb attack on a police vehicle deployed for election security in Dera Ismail Khan.
According to police, reinforcements have been called in. The police vehicle was stationed in the jurisdiction of Kalachi police station. The mobile was deployed for the security of Graha Aslam polling station and a sub-inspector and other personnel were aboard the vehicle.
Indiscriminate shooting was reported in the area after the bomb attack. The bodies of the martyred officials and the injured were shifted to the hospital. Security forces have cordoned off the area and started a search operation.
Town police in Peshawar arrested an impersonated policeman from a polling station and shifted him to police station for interrogation. Police said, a man wearing police uniform was arrested on suspicion from a polling station of NA-31, Peshawar. A 30-bore pistol was also recovered from his possession. The arrested fake policeman was shifted to Town police station for interrogation.
Polling of votes remained peaceful in Nowshera, Charsadda and Mardan amid long queues of voters in polling stations in all urban and rural areas of these districts.
Long queues of voters was seen at polling stations setup at Govt Primary School Dheri Ishaq, Mohib Banda, Amankot and Azakhel Payan in NA 34 Nowshera-II where tough electoral battle is expected among PPP, PTI Parliamentarians, JUIF and ANP candidates.
Police and security officials were deployed at sensitive and highly sensitive polling stations in NA 34 Nowshera-I and NA 33 Nowshera II.
Former KP Information Minister and ANP Central General Secretary, Mian Iftikhar Hussain who was contesting election on PK 89 Nowshera casted his vote at his native town Pabbi.
Similarly, PTI Parliamentarians Chairman, Pervez Khattak polled his vote at polling station Manki Sharif at NA 33 Nowshera-1. Pervez Khattak is contesting election on NA 33 Nowshera-I where he is being challenged by former MPA and PML-N KP leader, Ikhtair Wali Khan and other political heavyweight.
The candidates have set up private polling camps outside of polling stations for the education of young voters. Despite cold weather conditions, the voters thronged to polling stations in Swat, Shangla and Buner districts on Thursday afternoon and cast their votes in a free and peaceful atmosphere.
Polling stations at Mingora City, Amankot, Kalam, Malam Jabba, Bahrain, Madain, Khwazakhiela, Saidu Sharif in Swat, Sorwari, Daggar, Elum in Buner district and Bisham, Chakesar and Puran in Shangla are flooded with voters after Zuhar prayer.
Great enthusiasm was being witnessed among youth and women voters besides people of all walks of life in these mountainous districts.
In Bajaur, polling for elections 2024 was started on all three provincial assembly constituencies apart from the NA-8 and PK-22 which had been postponed due to assassination of one of the candidates.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly has 145 elected members, 115 regular seats, 26 seats reserved for women and 04 seats for Non-Muslims.
The voters in large numbers, especially young and female, thronged to polling stations at Kohat, Karak and Hangu districts on Thursday afternoon and cast their votes. In Kohat, long queues of voters are seen at polling stations set up at Jarma, Shakardara and other areas and are casting their votes in a peaceful atmosphere.
These voters would decide the fate of political stalwarts including PML-N former senator Abbas Afridi, ex-MNA Sharyar Afridi of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Saifullah Bangash of JUIF besides independent candidates. Seth Saifullah Khan Bangash and Abbas Afridi polled their votes at native polling stations at Kohat. In KP-90, PTI district president Aftab Iqbal was facing a three-time election winner as independent candidate, Amjad Afridi, who remained part of the Awami National Party and the PTI, and was currently associated with the Pakistan Peoples Party.
Voting process was carried out here in district Khyber on Thursday. It is to be mentioned here that 342 polling stations had been set up for one NA-27 and three provincial assembly seats (PK-69, PK-70 and PK-71) among which 91 polling stations had been announced sensitive. A total of 638743 voters comprising 349121 male and 289623 female voters exercised their right of franchise across Khyber.
The voting started at 08:00 am and continued till 05:00 pm without interruption. In the morning due to cold weather, a thin rush was witnessed while later on voters moved to their respective polling stations and casted their votes.
Contrary to assurance of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), mobile phone service and 3G, 4G net service was suspended in Khyber that multiplied miseries of the media persons.
On the other hand foolproof security arrangements had been at polling stations while forces troops had been deployed at sensitive polling stations. The Torkham border was suspended for all kinds of vehicle and pedestrian movement for twenty four hours. Election was in progress and after 05:00 pm counting of the votes started.
Meanwhile supporters of Qaumi Masail Committee, Landi Kotal, holding black flags and initiated sit-in at Charwazgai square, boycotted the election. The protestors who were carrying Identity Cards of their relatives, refused to cast their votes in protest against lack of basic facilities in the area.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa former Chief Minister and Vice Chairman, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Mahmood Khan polled his vote in his native polling station Khareri Swat district.
Jumat-e-Islami Pakistan Central Ameer, Sirajul Haq cast his vote at Dir Lower while Central Ameer of JUIF Maulana Fazlur Rehman at Abdulkhel in DI Khan district. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Awami National Party President Aimal Wali Khan cast vote at Charsadda.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has voiced concerns over reports of Internet shutdown, terming the issue ‘suspicious’. Speaking to reporters after casting his vote in his ancestral constituency of Buner, he expressed a lack of confidence in election arrangements. “The information available so far is disappointing. The shutdown of Internet services raises suspicions,” Gohar said.
Despite the concerns, the PTI chief urged supporters of his party to turn up and cast their vote. “[The founder of PTI] is in jail for the freedom of the nation. Turning PTI’s majority into a minority by not turning up to vote will greatly harm the nation,” he stressed.
The Chairman of National Democratic Movement (NDM) and former member of the National Assembly, Mohsin Dawar, has written a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner urging him to take notice of the security situation in North Waziristan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024