'Army will not be available for election duty,' Defence Ministry tells ECP.

ISLAMABAD -- The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that the Pakistan Army will not be available for election duty this year due to the 'situation in the country', noting that the security of the borders and the country was the army's 'first priority'.

During the ECP's third session regarding the elections of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies - chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja - Defence Secretary Lt General (retd) Hamood Uz Zaman Khan and Additional Defence Secretary Major General Khurram Sarfaraz Khan briefed the commission about the current situation of the country, a press release issued by the ECP said.

Pakistan has been witnessing a sharp rise in terror incidents for the last few months, which have taken the lives of several people, and as a result, the security forces have upped the ante against militants across the country.

The officials of the defence ministry apprised the participants of the session about the situation on the borders and the deployment of the army in the country, along with the overall law-and-order situation.

'The army attaches importance to its primary duties, and the security of the borders and the country is its first priority. Due to the current...