Daily Times

Pakistan closed its border with neighbouring Afghanistan and Iran for today to ensure security during the polling.

The announcement about the closure of the border was made by the Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday.

“To ensure full security during the general elections to be held in Pakistan on 8 Feb 2024, border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran would remain closed both for cargo and pedestrians. Normal operations would resume on 9 Feb 2024,” said a terse statement issued by FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch. Officials said both countries were informed about the decision of Pakistan. The border crossings with Afghanistan at Torkham and Chaman were frequently shut in the recent past due to tensions between the two countries. However, the border with Iran remained open last month when both countries were involved in tit-for-tat missile exchanges.

Security has been beefed up ahead of the crucial polling with the deployment of army troops. Almost half of over 90,000 polling stations nationwide have been declared sensitive. Many polling stations in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have been identified as highly sensitive.

Balochistan in particular has seen a sudden spike in terrorist attacks in the run-up to the polls. Twin terrorist attacks rocked Pishin and Qilla Saifullah on Wednesday, leaving scores of people dead and injuring dozens. Despite a surge in terrorist attacks, authorities were adamant that elections would take place as scheduled in the province. The KP province has also been on high alert ahead of the polling. Observers believe that given the uptick in violence, there is going to be a huge challenge for authorities and law enforcement agencies to ensure trouble-free polls on Thursday in both provinces.

There are fears that polling stations and security personnel guarding them are vulnerable. However, the authorities were confident that they would not let terrorists spoil the democratic exercise.