Regarding the security difficulties the interim administration encountered on election day for the general elections, Interior Minister Dr. Gohar Ejaz said on Friday that 56 incidents were reported on voting day in spite of the suspension of cell communications.
Along with acting Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, Ejaz issued the following statement at a news conference: “A high-level security meeting made the decision to shutdown mobile services.”
He disclosed that the reason behind the “emergency decisions” was the “martyrdom of 28 individuals” that occurred one day prior to the polls. Because the terror act was “not a suicide attack, but a device bomb attached to a motorcycle,” the mobile services were shut down.
The minister emphasized that such efforts were vital for safeguarding human lives, saying, “These actions were crucial for ensuring the safety of individuals.” In addition, he stated that “there were 56 incidents on the day of the election, and there were intelligence reports of terrorist incidents taking place.”
Referring to the terrorist attacks on February 7 that resulted in the deaths of twenty-six persons, Eijaz remarked that “February 8 was a challenging day.” At a high-level meeting, he declared, “We decided to close mobile signals” in response to the Qilla Saifullah incident.
“It was not an easy decision to close mobile signals,” he said, acknowledging the hardship of the choice and defending it with the argument that it was made to “secure lives.”
“Shouldn’t we be proud of our security forces?” he asked, expressing pride in the security forces.
The minister went on to say, “56 incidents occurred despite mobile signals being off, in which the Pakistan Army and police personnel were martyred.” He added, “We have to protect lives as the sitting government.”
The acting minister offered condolences for the security people who lost their lives, saying, “We salute the Pakistani forces’ personnel who gave their lives yesterday.” “All institutions worked together to conduct a peaceful election,” he said in closing. Numerous adversaries have assaulted us. Here before you is the outcome of the election. It is the country’s voice.”
Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said, “As per our commitment, the caretaker government conducted elections, and the process of receiving results is ongoing.”
Solangi stated, “We the voters of Pakistan should choose the future ruler.” He also emphasized how “peaceful” the election was overall and how the caretaker government was committed to making sure the voting process was calm.
A day earlier, during the election process, internet and mobile phone services were taken down nationwide in Pakistan; the authorities justified the action as “maintaining law and order” in the wake of the previous day’s violence.
However, academics and political stakeholders, including the PTI, a political party that primarily relied on social media platforms for its electoral campaign, decried the suspension, calling it a “reckless attack on people’s rights.”
“Mobile services throughout the nation have been decided to be temporarily suspended,” a spokesman for the interior ministry stated in a statement.
The spokesperson went on to say that “security measures are essential to maintain law and order situation and to deal with potential threats” and that “precious lives have been lost” in recent militant attacks in the nation.
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