The curtain finally rises on the general elections as the nation prepares to go to the polls today. The armed forces are being deployed outside the most sensitive polling stations. Polling stations and boothsThe ECP has set up a total of 90,675 polling stations across the country including a total of 25,320 polling stations for men, 23,950 for women and 41,405 combined polling stations. There will be 19,006 polling stations in Sindh, including 4,443 for men, 4,413 for women and 10,250 joint polling stations. There will be 6,601 combined polling stations in K-P.Balochistan will have 5,028 polling stations, including 1,511 for men, and 1,317 for women.

He urged countries that had acted quickly to suspend funding to review what he described as wrong and dangerous decisions. Gamal Rushdi, a spokesperson for Aboul Gheit, said the Arab League chief was disappointed that some of the main donors to the agency had acted so swiftly to suspend funding despite the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Meanwhile, Egypt said its intensive efforts to end the fighting in Gaza and protect the lives and rights of Palestinian people continue around the clock. Diaa Rashwan, chair of the State Information Service, said authorities in the country are doing their utmost to broker a truce. Under the proposal, he said, Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages would be exchanged in stages and “humanitarian support for our brothers in the Gaza Strip will be intensified.”

About 2,038 polling stations in Balochistan and 4,344 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been categorized as highly sensitive. Likewise, 15,829 polling stations in Punjab, 8,030 in Sindh, 2,068 in Balochistan, and over 6,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are classified as sensitive. The Commission has established an Election City in its premises, equipped with the latest technology to swiftly disseminate election results of 855 constituencies to the media. A comprehensive strategy has been worked out to receive election results via WhatsApp, email, and fax. An average of seven to eight security personnel will man each of the 90,777 polling stations across the country.

Caretaker Minister for Law and Justice Ahmad Irfan Aslam has launched Urdu translation of federal laws for the general public to be available on the website and mobile Apps of the ministry. The purpose of this initiative is to provide easy access to the general public in Urdu. This system will have features such as version control, an intelligent search system and user logs. Furthermore, the Ministry of Law and Justice has developed a Library Management Information System which is a web-based off-the-shelf system, developed internally by the project team accessible link http://LMIS.molaw.gov.pk. All employees of the Federal Government can access the books and after having membership the books can be issued.

Babar Azam, the former captain of the Pakistan team, has retained the first position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI rankings. ICC has released the rankings of Test, ODI, and T20 players. ODI Players RankingICC rankings continue, Babar’s number one among ODI batsmen retainedFormer Pakistan captain Babar Azam has retained his first position in the ODI player rankings, India’s Shibman Gul is second and Virat Kohli is third in the ODI rankings. ICCT Twenty Player RankingsICC rankings continue, Babar’s number one among ODI batsmen retainedIndia’s Surya Kumar Yadav remains at the top of the Twenty20 player rankings, England’s Philip Salt is second, Pakistan’s Muhammad Rizwan is third, and Babar Azam is fourth. Pakistan’s Babar Azam is fifth in the Test rankings and Australia’s Usman Khawaja is sixth.

TFAs are fatty acids that are naturally occurring in meat and dairy products, whereas iTFAs are produced after hydrogenation and are mainly found in bakery products, and frozen and refrigerated items. The symposium titled, ‘Reducing Industrial Trans Fatty Acids (iFTAs)’ in Pakistan was jointly organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Cargill Pakistan. For this purpose, they can be given incentives to promote a shift from iTFAs towards embracing alternatives.” She added that it is a complex challenge to eradicate iTFAs, however it can be achieved by adopting efficient policies, and multifaceted approaches to engage all stakeholders. Since the TFAs are drivers of many serious diseases, food authorities must regulate street food,” added Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Food Safety Expert Dr Zafar. During his talk, SDPI Executive Director, Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri emphasised that multisectoral dialogues are required for managing dynamic issues like the injurious impact of iTFAs on health.

Balochistan has recently witnessed a sharp rise in the number of low-scale bomb explosions targeting election campaign office and candidates. PHOTO: FILETwo separate bomb blasts rocked the Kech and Panjgur districts of Balochistan on Tuesday. These targeted attacks highlight the delicate security situation prevailing in certain areas of Balochistan, ahead of the elections. Recently, Balochistan has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of low-scale bomb explosions targeting election campaign office and candidates across the province. The Balochistan government has made fool-proof security measures to avert untoward incidents on the elections.

Khan, KP, early on Monday demonstrate that terrorist acts are still occurring and that they specifically target law enforcement and military people. Over thirty terrorists, according to officials, started the attack from numerous directions, killing at least ten police officers. All things considered, 2023 was a bloody year, with almost 1,500 deaths linked to terrorism, according to some reports. The Afghan Taliban must “firmly combat all forms of terrorist forces,” according to a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry. Along with removing the threat of terrorism, the security forces should focus all of their efforts on preserving the lives of front-line military and civilian people.

Nation goes to polls tomorrowThe nation goes to polls tomorrow to elect members of the National Assembly and four Provincial Assemblies. Ninety thousand seven hundred and seventy seven polling stations have been established nationwide. Of these, forty four thousand polling stations have been declared normal, twenty nine thousand nine hundred and eighty five sensitive, and sixteen thousand, seven hundred and sixty six highly sensitive. Under a three tiered system, the personnel of the armed forces will perform duties outside the polling stations. In the federal capital, police personnel have reached the polling stations and they will stay there overnight.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Monday old politicians put the country in danger by involving in the politics of hate. The PPP chief mentioned that old politicians did not know anything besides divisionary politics, adding the people should better get rid of this traditional politics. “When a person from Larkana becomes the prime minister, the country becomes a nuclear power and the country developes by leaps and bounds. “People should give me votes as the country has not seen a Larkana PM for a long time,” he added. The PPP chief said the economy suffered immeasurably due to the stubbornness and ego of the old politicians as they have introduced the abuse culture in politics.

A fan of famous Hollywood singer Louis Tomlinson got him to sign the official marriage certificate under the guise of autograph and posted the picture on social media. According to the report of a foreign news organization, Louis Tomlinson, a member of the most popular British music band of the past, ‘One Direction’, signed the marriage certificate in absentia. While people were taking autographs one after the other when a woman handed Louis a marriage certificate, the singer autographed it without being seen. The marriage certificate from the Republic of Indonesia had a photo of the singer and the woman with their signatures in between. Therefore, the certificate signed by singer Louis has no legal value.

KOHISTAN: Women candidates in Kohistan are breaking social barriers and defying the odds to contest polls on February 8. Tehmina Faheem, Shakeela Rabbani, Sannaya Sabeel and Momina Basit are among the first women to enter the electoral battlefield in the conservative constituencies of the Kohistan and Torghar region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hazara district. Last week, a group of Kohistan clerics, mostly members of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, issued a fatwa (Islamic decree) against canvassing by and for women election candidates and declared the act unIslamic. Zahid Khan, the regional coordinator the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) termed the fatwa contrary to women’s rights. He said the Torghar and Kohistan region — comprising Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, and Kolai-Palas (Kohistan) — stands atop Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where women and child rights were routinely violated.

ISLAMABAD: How will the Election Management System (EMS) of the Election Commission of Pakistan work despite the lack of internet connection across the country? He clarified that three laptops have been kept for each provincial assembly constituency while four laptops have been kept for the National Assembly constituency. No guidelines have been given to stop mobile and internet on election day. According to Google, a LAN is a collection of devices that are connected together in a single location, such as a building, office, or home. A LAN can be small or large, with one user for example a home and thousands of users and devices for a company, an office or a school.

His statement came as Karachi – his party’s fortress – came to a standstill due to rain amid the electoral campaign. Reacting to Karachi's urban flooding, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, earlier taunted by Bilawal on governance, quipped that if Lahore mirrored Karachi's situation after rain, he would have withdrawn from the electoral race! Bilawal assured that the provincial cabinet of Sindh would grant Karachi its due rights, and together, they would serve the city. If Nawaz Sharif wants to leave this path, he should abandon this policy,” he said. Bilawal said that the party wanted transparent elections and hoped that despite Nawaz Sharif's pressure, the caretaker government would not interfere in the elections.

An anti-terrorist court (ATC) judge will hear today (Tuesday) the bail applications of former prime minister Imran Khan in twelve different cases related to May 9, 2023 incidents of rioting. Judge Malik Ejaz Asif will conduct this hearing inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail where Imran Khan has been detained since September last year. The PTI founder has already been convicted and sentenced in four different cases lodged after his ouster from government in April 2022. Read: Ensure Imran’s presence on next hearing: ATCsThe judge will also hear six bail applications of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and one bail application of Imran Khan’s ally Sheikh Rashid. The court will also mark attendance of over 300 alleged rioters who have already been granted bail in May 9 cases.