With elections just around the corner, the country faces a shortage of security officials to secure the polls on February 8.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), it has identified the need to deploy over half a million security personnel, or 535,402 units, in the four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) on polling day.
However, the provinces and ICT only have around 367,669 police and other law enforcement agents available for deputement on polling day.
This leaves a shortfall of 167,733 security officials.
A breakdown of the requirements and available units shows that Punjab needs 221,033 personnel but only has 130,000 available.
Similarly, Sindh requires 115,500 personnel but only has 105,000 personnel available for deputement on February 8.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there are just 89,959 personnel available against a requirement of 115,430 personnel.
Balochistan has 38,210 personnel available against a requirement of 73,439 personnel available.
In the federal capital, there is a requirement for 10,000 personnel, but only 4,500 are available.
The ECP said that the government would have to write to the governments in Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Gilgit-Baltistan to request the deployment of personnel in other territories during elections to bridge the gap.