The Pakistan Army will be on “standby” to help in the conduct of the General Election for the Legislative Assembly on July 25 after the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission requisitioned troops.
According to a Ministry of Interior notification dated July 8, the government is “pleased to authorise the deployment of Pakistan Army (standby) 1,600 x Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) at highly sensitive polling stations and 4,000 x Frontier Constabulary troops for the conduct of the General Election of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly scheduled to be held on July 25, 2021.
The announcement went on to say that the specific dates of deployment will be worked out between the AJK government and its election commission, as well as appropriate Pakistani agencies, according to the country’s regulations.
The term “standby” means that military would not be present inside voting booths, according to sources within the AJK election commission.