Islamabad July (19): The Senate Standing Committee on Interior have been briefed by the representatives of the General Headquarters (GHQ) on Thursday over security measurements.
Informing the committee’s meeting today, the army’s representatives said, “We are only working to improve the security situation on the instructions of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP),” adding that troops were liable to follow the electoral body’s code of conduct. The GHQ representative further said that the armed forces had always lent support to civil institutions.
Responding to Senator Kulsoom Parveen’s question as to how many troops will be sent to Balochistan, the armed forces’ representative said deployment of troops will be done as required. Stressing on complying with the ECP’s code of conduct, the army’s representative said the troops also have to perform the police’s duties until the latter’s capabilities improve. We took extraordinary measures when polls were held in Afghanistan. Now the Afghan president has assured the prime minister and army chief, over the phone, of cooperation,” they said. Chairman of the committee, Rehman Malik said on the occasion, that Afghanistan can be used in terror activities during polls. The GHQ representatives also clarified that there was no hindrance in communication with the electoral body.
