Following the directives of Federal Cabinet, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has assured the political parties that the army would not be deployed inside any polling station and would be used as a quick response force. The cabinet which met on May 3, it endorsed the political parties' demand that neither any personnel from the army or any other Law Enforcement Agency will be stationed inside polling stations during the country-wide elections on May 11.
An official of the ECP said that deteriorating law and order situation in the country forced the Commission to ask the provincial governments to increase the number of security personnel who will be deployed at sensitive polling stations. "Up to 9 security personnel will be deployed at polling stations, which have been declared sensitive, while 5 security personnel will be deployed at regular polling stations", according to ECP's estimates.