ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s election oversight body has completed the printing of 260 million ballot papers for 859 national and provincial assembly constituencies across the country, it said on Sunday, three days before the South Asian country heads to national elections.
Pakistan is scheduled to hold the elections on February 8, with 17,800 candidates running for 266 national and 593 provincial seats and a total of 128.6 million voters expected to exercise their right to vote in the elections.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it had finished the printing process even in the constituencies where ballot papers had to be reprinted due to court verdicts on petitions filed by political parties and candidates with regard to election nominations.
“Now the process of delivery of ballot papers has begun across the country which will be completed by tomorrow (Monday),” the ECP said in a statement.
In the 2018 general elections, the ECP said it had printed 220 million ballot papers, using 800 tons of special security paper.
“However, 2,170 tons of paper were used for the printing of 260 million ballot papers for the 2024 general elections, mainly due to the increased number of candidates in the constituencies which is 150 times more than the 2018 elections,” the ECP said.
The regulator said it encountered many challenges, including court cases, during the process of printing of ballot papers, but fulfilled its responsibility in limited time.
“By timely completing the printing of ballot papers, it has been ensured that all voters can exercise their right to vote in the February 8 elections,” it added.
Like the past several elections, the upcoming polls in Pakistan have also been marred by allegations of pre-poll rigging, mainly by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Several members of the PTI, which says it is facing a state-backed crackdown, were able to submit their election nominations after challenging their rejection by the election regulator in courts.
Khan, who has been in jail on graft charges since August and was sentenced in multiple cases this week, says the campaign against him is an attempt by the caretaker government and the military to keep him from returning to power after analysts say he fell out with the generals that led to his ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022.
The military denies the allegation, while the caretaker government overseeing the polls says it has no favorites.
Pakistan regulator completes printing of 260 million ballot papers for Feb. 8 national elections
https://arab.news/m6yma
Pakistan regulator completes printing of 260 million ballot papers for Feb. 8 national elections
- More than 17,000 candidates are contesting elections for 266 national, 593 provincial seats
- A total of 128.6 million Pakistanis are expected to exercise their right to vote in the elections
Pakistan says it seized 32 square kilometers inside Afghanistan as border clashes escalate
- Security official describes ‘limited tactical action’ in Gudwana after Afghan assaults
- Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants as UN, China and Russia urge restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area inside Afghanistan following overnight fighting, a security official said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes between the two countries escalated sharply.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said troops carried out a “limited tactical action” in the Gudwana area opposite the Zhob sector along the frontier, capturing Afghan territory after responding to attacks on Pakistani positions.
“On the night of Feb. 26/27, posts opposite the Zhob sector launched anticipated physical attacks on multiple Pakistani positions,” the official said, referring to fighters linked to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, whom Islamabad identifies as Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
“In response to aggressive unprovoked fire and physical attacks, Pakistan security forces launched a limited tactical action on the night of Feb. 27/28 in the general area of Gudwana with a view to capture TTA Tahir Post,” he continued, adding that 32 square kilometers of Afghan territory were seized.
The official said special combat teams crossed the border after preparatory bombardment, supported by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets providing “real-time battlefield awareness.”
He said 24 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and 37 wounded, with no Pakistani casualties reported.
The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from Taliban authorities in Kabul of any territorial loss in the Gudwana area.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan over the weekend, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday evening that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
Tarar said Pakistani strikes had destroyed 130 check posts, 171 tanks and armored vehicles and targeted 41 locations across Afghanistan by air. Those figures could not be independently verified.
The United Nations, as well as China and Russia, have called for restraint.
The United States said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
