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ISLAMABAD: Secretary Election Commission Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan on Wednesday said the commission had contacted the army for the purpose of door-to-door verification of the votes in Karachi, DawnNews reported.

Speaking to media representatives in Islamabad, Khan said the vote verification procedure would begin from Jan 1, 2013 and would be completed in two months’ time.

He said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had contacted the army in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling of Dec 5, adding that, 16 political parties had submitted their recommendations pertaining to electoral lists which would be reviewed during Thursday’s meeting of the commission.

On Dec 5, the Supreme Court had asked the ECP to carry out a fresh door-to-door verification of voters in Karachi with the assistance of the army and the Frontier Corps (FC).

“In view of the peculiar security situation in Karachi, such verification must be carried out by the Election Commission with the help and assistance of the Pakistan Army and the FC,” Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, a member of a three-judge bench, had stated in the judgment.

Previously, on Dec 4, the court had also released an interim order dealing with the subject of delimitation of constituencies in Karachi.