ATTOCK (Web Desk) – Voting is underway on Tuesday for by-elections on PP-16 provincial assembly seat in Punjab’s Attock district that vacant after former home minister Shuja Khanzada was killed in a suicide blast.
The polling began at 8am and will continue until 5pm without any pause.
Shuja Khanzada was killed in a suicide attack at his farmhouse in the district on Aug 16.
Only two candidates are contesting for by-polls in the PP-16 constituency, which are being held under the supervision of army and Rangers.
Jahangir Khanzada, the son of Colonel (retd) Shuja Khanzada, is contesting on a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ticket against Mohammad Naeem, an independent candidate.
No political party fielded its candidate to contest the by-polls against Jahangir Khanzada.
A total of 206,669 citizens will exercise their voting rights in today’s by-polls. The number of male voters registered in the constituency is 114,027 while the number of female voters is 92,642.
The number of polling booths reserved for male voters is 244 while that of female voters is 181.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in wake of the by-polls in Attock district, with some 900 Pakistan Army and Rangers personnel, and about 1500 police personnel deployed inside and outside polling stations.
The Election Commission of Pakistan earlier last week ordered the deployment of army and Rangers both inside and outside polling stations during the by-elections in NA-122 (Lahore), NA-144 (Okara), NA-154 (Lodhran), PP-147 (Lahore) and PP-16 (Attock) constituencies.
According to a spokesman for the commission, the decision was taken because of the volatile law and order situation in the country and on the demand of the Provincial Election Commissioner, Punjab.
