Pakistan: Gohar Ejaz appointed new caretaker Interior Minister

Pakistan Caretaker Federal Minister for Commerce, Industries and Production Gohar Ejaz has been given the additional portfolio of the Ministry of Interior, Dawn newspaper reported.

Pakistan Caretaker Federal Minister for Commerce, Industries and Production Gohar Ejaz has been given the additional portfolio of the Ministry of Interior, Dawn newspaper reported. Pakistan's former interior minister Sarfraz Bugti resigned from the position last month citing "some personal reasons". He later joined the PPP to contest the upcoming February 8 general elections.

"The Prime Minister, in terms of rule 3(4) of the Rules of Business, 1973, has been pleased to assign the portfolio of Interior to Mr [Gohar] Ejaz [...] with immediate effect," the Dawn reported citing a government notification issued on Wednesday Following the appointment, Gohar assumed office as the 48th interior minister of Pakistan, the Ministry of Interior said in a social media post.

It added that the newly appointed minister met senior personnel at the ministry and was briefed regarding its affairs and subsidiaries. The development comes at a time when Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror attacks, raising concerns about the security situation during the upcoming polls, as per Dawn.

On Tuesday, the caretaker federal cabinet approved the deployment of troops and civil armed forces personnel on polling stations and sensitive constituencies during the February 8 polls. Sources told Dawn that the Pakistan interior ministry had moved a summary to the cabinet, suggesting the deployment of the army as a quick response force to maintain peace and security, ensuring a smooth and transparent electoral process.

Later, the cabinet approved the summary, which said the army troops and civil armed forces to be deployed in sensitive areas would also serve as a rapid response force. The deployment of troops was demanded by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), citing a shortage of over 2,75,000 security officials required for election duty, as per Dawn.

According to information received by the ECP from the federal and provincial governments, there was a shortfall of 169,110 personnel in Punjab, 18,500 in Sindh, 56,717 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 13,769 in Balochistan and 4,500 in Islamabad. The letter requested immediate arrangements for deploying the Pakistan Army and other security forces at polling stations. (ANI)

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