Pakistan Army will safely deploy QRF for AJK elections: ISPR

The Military Media Department, Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday that the Pakistan Army will deploy the Quick Response Force (QRF) under Article 245 to ensure the security of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections.

ISPR stated that the AJK Election Committee has requested the Pakistani army to provide a safe environment during the voting in the Legislative Assembly on July 25. It added that in accordance with Article 245 of the Constitution, the Pakistani army will deploy QRF from July 22 to 26.

According to the statement, AJK police will be employed by law enforcement agencies (LEA) in other provinces and civilian armed forces including rangers and border guards (FC) to ensure the smooth progress of the voting.

On July 12, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid stated that the government led by the Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI) will ensure that the AJK election is transparent.

He once said that Prime Minister Imran Khan promised to organize transparent and fair elections in AJK, and the PTI government pledged to conduct public opinion surveys in a free, fair and just manner. The Minister of the Interior has stated that the government will conduct a transparent poll for the first time in history.

Rashid has said that those who are afraid of failure have been making baseless accusations. Whenever opposition parties were invited to deliberate on electoral reforms, they did not show up.

Regarding security arrangements, he stated that at the request of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), 7,200 Rangers and Border Force (FC) personnel will be deployed during the AJK poll on July 25.