Islamabad, Feb 5 (EFE).- Eighty percent of polling stations in the restive southern province of Balochistan are “sensitive” or “highly sensitive” to attacks amid an increase in gun violence in the runup to the elections this week, according to the the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday.<\/p>
\u201cIn total there are 5,028 polling stations in the whole of Balochistan out of which 34 percent are very sensitive while 46 percent are sensitive and 20 percent are categorized as normal,\u201d ECP spokesperson Nadeem Haider told EFE.<\/p>
Balochistan, Pakistan\u2019s largest province in terms of territory, has seen an increase in insurgent violence in recent weeks – with several attacks on politicians and election staff – during campaigns for Thursday\u2019s general elections.<\/p>
The most recent incident occurred the previous night, when a group of unidentified motorcyclists attacked election offices and houses of candidates with hand grenades in various areas of the province, without causing casualties, according to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn.<\/p>
The recent level of violence in the region prompted the Balochistan authorities to announce movement restrictions on candidates, who have been barred from holding events and campaigning following a terrorist alert.<\/p>
The media on Monday spoke of “credible reports” of the presence of a suicide bomber in the provincial capital city of Quetta, with intent to attack political leaders, campaign meetings and candidates participating in the elections.<\/p>
Moreover, internet and telephone services have reportedly been cut off in Balochistan until at least election day, for security reasons.<\/p>
Police in Rawalpindi city, in northern Punjab province, where Pakistan Army headquarters is located, will deploy 12,783 officers and 4,390 military personnel across 5,400 polling stations to ensure security, Dawn said.<\/p>
Elsewhere in the country, more than half of polling stations are at risk of violent incidents in Pakistan, the ECP said in a report in late January.<\/p>
The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is the favorite to win at the polls, to the detriment of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has faced numerous adversities since the ouster of Imran Khan as prime minister in 2022 following a no confidence motion. EFE <\/p>
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