Islamabad: Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has issued directions to provide security and other facilities to international poll monitors overseeing the October 10 general elections.

Irshad Khan on September 24 issued written directives to the federal and provincial governments to provide necessary facilities, including security to international observers to facilitate their visits to polling stations and to witness the election process, media reports said.

He said the international observers were welcome to observe the pre-poll arrangements, voting process and counting of votes by the presiding officers at the close of the polls.

Observers may also witness the preparation of preliminary results by the returning officers, he said adding the Election Commission was also arranging briefing sessions for the foreign monitors. Entry passes would also be issued to the observers to ensure free access to the polling sites.

The fresh directive followed the decision of the European Union (EU) to reduce its observers' team from 164 to 70 citing security concerns in the light of attacks on foreigners in Pakistan.

The EU had initially nominated its largest ever poll-monitoring team of 164 members headed by Irish Parliamentarian John Cushnahan but cut it later in the absence of an official invite, which would have entailed a full-fledged security protocol.

PTI