By Xinhua
Islamabad : Political parties and their supporters in Pakistan took a cooling day on Sunday as the country counted down to elections on Monday that will produce a new set of national and provincial assemblies for the country.
The campaigning activities for all political parties ended at midnight on Saturday, leaving the streets of Islamabad relatively quieter on Sunday.
In Islamabad, Election Commission officials transferred ballots, boxes and ink to 382 polling stations in the capital under the police escort to finalize preparations for the parliamentary elections.
Major streets leading to political hearts in the country’s capital, like the President’s Office, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and the Election Commission were all blockaded by the police and uniform servicemen.
Police sources said in Islamabad alone, 8,000 police and soldiers were mobilized to deploy inside and outside polling stations and key government buildings to ensure security.
“I really don’t know what emergency will happen on Monday,” said Arshad Mehmood, assistant sub-inspector of Rescue 15, an emergency response agency in Islamabad, when he was asked about his view towards Monday’s elections, “let’s leave it to Allah.”
The rescue team has deployed 72 to 80 emergency workers, either in the operation room at G8/4 Islamabad or patrolling on the streets, Arshad said, adding the team could mobilize as many as 80 ambulances for backup at a time in case of emergency.
Security concerns for the elections had amounted during the past weeks in Pakistan after the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Dec. 17.
A suicide bomb attack near the election office of an independent candidate in Parachinar of Kurram tribal agency late Saturday night have killed at least 47 people and injured more than 100 others. The local government has imposed curfew and deployed army to maintain order in Parachinar after the suicide attack.
Government sources have warned of more possible suicide bombers on Monday across the country to disrupt the electoral process.
To reassure voters amid fears of further violence, the military of Pakistan have deployed some 81,000 troops outside nearly 9,000 most sensitive polling stations while the government has arranged 400,000 police personnel around polling stations and key government buildings to ensure the elections to go on peacefully.
Across the countries, 64,176 polling stations with 170,174 polling booths have been established all over the country while 572,000 personnel have been appointed by the concerned Returning Officers.