Daily Times

LAHORE: District Administration Lahore, following strict the instructions of Punjab government has strongly reacted against publicity violations of Election Commission Code of Conduct, instructing special teams to remove larger size posters, banners, streamers, handbills and pamphlets that were not up to the standard and publicity policy of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The crackdown kicked off on Saturday that continued until Sunday in the provincial metropolis.

In this connection, special teams were constituted zone wise and each team was led by its Zonal Officer Regulation along with gang men and other staff which ensured the removal of maximum unapproved size banners, streamers and pamphlets from assigned jurisdiction.

Deputy Commissioner Lahore Captain (r) Anwarul Haq said that the process of monitoring and enforcement was going side by side in all national and provincial constituencies of the provincial capital.

“Teams have removed unapproved size banners, steamers, handbills and portraits from the main entry and exit points of the city including main roads namely Jail Road, Mall Road, Shalimar Link Road, Taj Pura, Allama Iqbal Road, Bund Road, BoR Society, Allah Hu Chauk, Shore Chauk Johar Town and other areas. It has been ensured that only those banners, steamers, handbills and portraits should be removed whose sizes were in violation of the code of conduct of ECP. The operations/actions were totally impartial and indiscriminate,” Lahore DC Captain (r) Anwarul Haq added.

Similarly, monitoring officers of national and provincial constituencies, deputed by ECP, made field visits and observed the political activities and violations in their jurisdictions and reported to the DC who is also notified as District Monitoring Officer Lahore.

DC Lahore has directed all enforcement teams to be vigilant in the field and if any violation is observed then take strict action.

“In the first phase, the already hanging outsize banners, streamers and handbills are removed and in the second phase it is ensured that no candidate should try to install any outsize publicity item in any part of the city,” DC Anwarul Haq added.

Special teams of DC Office Lahore checked the printing and publishing presses and made ensured that no printing and publishing press should print any publicity item without its name and more than the approved size of the ECP.

DC Lahore has affirmed that the operation will continue until July 25 and teams will be in the field around the clock. It is pertinent to mention that the Election Commissioner of Lahore has approved sizes of publicity items as posters, hand bill/pamphlets/leaflets, banners and portraits.

Published in Daily Times, July 2^nd 2018.