As the nation braces for the upcoming general elections, Karachi police is facing a substantial shortage of 14,300 security personnel, including female officers.
As per The News, Khadim Hussain Rind, the additional inspector general (AIG) of Karachi, revealed that the city’s police force had initiated robust security arrangements for the elections scheduled for February 8.
However, he underscored the significant shortfall in required personnel.
“Over 46,076 police personnel are needed for the election security plan, while Karachi Police have only 31,776. The required number of female police personnel is also not available,” said the AIG.
He elaborated on the specific needs for female personnel, highlighting, “At least 3,200 female personnel are required for security arrangements at women’s polling stations while we have 1,200 female personnel. The KPO faces a shortage of 2,000 lady cops.”
As per the security plan, eight police personnel are required for the most sensitive, six for sensitive and four for normal polling stations each. In Karachi, there are 2,033 most sensitive stations, 3,008 sensitive stations, and 308 polling stations are declared normal, while 16,264, 18,048, and 1,232 personnel respectively are required for them.
Rind disclosed that 35,544 personnel would be assigned to duty at 5,349 polling stations in the megacity.
Additionally, a quick response force is set to be deployed at polling stations, with 3,892 personnel assigned to 2,774 buildings. Furthermore, 4,210 police officers will be placed on reserve duty under the supervision of the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), accompanied by nine Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), 16 Superintendents of Police (SPs), 57 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), and 107 Station House Officers (SHOs).
The AIG outlined plans to allocate 2,430 personnel for various election commission offices, welfare duties, hospitals, and miscellaneous tasks.
However, he emphasized the glaring shortage of 14,300 police personnel and revealed that multiple options were under consideration to address this gap. Possibilities include deploying lady health workers, and polio staff, or hiring private security guards, anti-encroachment, excise police, anti-corruption, or forest department personnel to bolster the existing security measures.
As the elections draw near, efforts are underway to mitigate the shortfall and ensure the safety and integrity of the electoral process in Karachi.
