18 new polling sites to open in eastern zone

JALALABAD/ASADABAD (Pajhwok): Eighteen new polling sites have been established amid tight security measures in eastern provinces, officials said on Thursday.

Flanked by security officials of eastern zone, the deputy interior minister said this at a news conference in Jalalabad, the provincial capital. He was flanked by senior provincial officials.

Lt. Gen. Ikramuddin Yawar said no polling sites would stay shut or face with any kind of threats in the Saturday’s election. Around 300 new polling sites had been established throughout the country to facilitate voters, he added.

“We have conducted several cleanup operations and then established new polling sites there,” he recalled. Election materials had been sent to polling stations.

Brig. Gen. Fazal Ahmad Sherzad, provincial police chief, reiterated stringent security measures had been adopted to conduct fair, transparent and peaceful elections.

Separately, a large number of religious leaders and tribal elders held a mammoth gathering in Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province, urging people to come out on June 14 and cast their vote as a national duty.

They also asked the gathering to support the country’s security forces during the democratic exercise to maintain law and order and thwart any untoward incident.

Haji Attaullah, a tribal elder, said they had cast their vote on April 5 defying threats from the Taliban. This time around they would throng polling stations to exercise their right, he vowed.

rm/mud

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