Daily Times

Karachi: Sindh Chief Secretary Major (retd) Azam Suleman Khan directed all divisional commissioners and DIGs to formulate comprehensive reports detailing all the issues and difficulties they faced in the election task and send them to him within a week’s period while presiding over a high level meeting on Friday morning in Sindh Secretariat.

“In view of security apprehension in the Sindh, the task of holding the General Election was a very big challenge but the Sindh Police, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Rangers and other security institutions zealously controlled the law and order situation to ensure that elections were held peacefully,” said Sindh Chief Secretary Major (retd) Azam Suleman Khan.

While lauding the role of caretaker Chief Minister (CM) Fazal-ur-Rehman, Sindh Chief Secretary said, “Guidance and advices of caretaker Chief Minister Fazal-ur-Rehman, also valuably encouraged us to do the needful in conducting the General Election-2018 sufficiently.”

He noted that the voting turn-out remained better in the province compared to other provinces under the coordinated efforts of Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and security institutions who assisted the civil administration throughout the election process.

He remarked that compared to other provinces, Sindh was better at complying with the code of conduct issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). He further added that Sindh outperformed other provinces as far as administrative arrangements for the elections were concerned. “We provided missing facilities to polling stations, installed CCTV cameras and took timely action on reports we received,” said the Sindh CS.

During the meeting, Major (retd) Azam Suleman Khan also thanked Inspector General Police (IGP), Provincial Election Commission (PEC), all administrative secretaries, divisional and deputy commissioners, DIGs and all other stakeholder for rendering electoral services.

Provincial Election Commission (PEC) Returning Officer (RO) Yousuf Khan Khatak also appreciated the administrative and security arrangements which enhanced the turn out. He further commended the role of Sindh Government in the provision of staff. He also praised the Karachi Commissioner for the role he played in making arrangements for the elections.

Sindh IGP Amjad Javed Saleemi appreciated the services of all stakeholders. “The 2018 elections were the most peaceful elections in the country’s history,” he added.

Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR) Dr Iqbal Hussain Durrani, Home Secretary Haroon Ahmed Khan, Health Secretary Dr. Usman Chachar, General Administration Secretary Sajid Jamal Abro, Services Secretary Riazuddin Qureshi, Implementation and Coordination Secretary Syed Mohsin Ali Shah, Karachi Commissioner Muhammad Sualeh Farooqi, Additional IGP Mushtaq Maher and other senior officers were also present at the meeting. All divisional commissioners and DIGs participated in the meeting through video link.

Published in Daily Times, July 28^th 2018.