The decision was backed by major political parties, including the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The ECP also decided to deploy the army at all polling stations in Karachi and Federally Administered Tribal Areas in addition to other sensitive areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Commenting on the ECP decision, PML-N's secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said that if the Election Commission felt that ensuring security for holding free, fair and transparent elections was not possible without deployment of army, the party would endorse it. Under the Constitution, he said, the Election Commission had the authority to deploy the army wherever it wanted. "As far as the PML-N is concerned, we will simply endorse the Election Commission's decision (for) better ... security for holding free, fair and transparent elections," he said.
Jhagra said that it was PML-N's holding free, fair and transparent polls in a peaceful and secure environment was the party's primary demand. Citing the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, he said that it was necessary for the Election Commission to do everything, including deploying army and rangers to ensure security at polling stations so as to avert any untoward incident.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) spokesperson Wasay Jalil said that his party would accept any decision of the Supreme Court and Election Commission in this regard. He, however, said that the party had a simple request: considering that the law and order situation in the rest of the country was also not good, Karachi should not be singled out.
"MQM is the party which respects Constitution and the law... we will abide by any decision taken by the apex court and the Election Commission," he said. The MQM spokesperson, however, rejected reports of fake voters in Karachi. Earlier, PPP Punjab chapter's president Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo expressed reservations about the law and order situation during the recent bye-elections and also urged the ECP to deploy army during the general elections to ensure security at polling stations.
PTI chairman Imran Khan told reporters after a meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner that his party supported the idea of deploying army at sensitive polling stations across the country. He said that PTI had requested the ECP to deploy army at sensitive polling stations which the Chief Election Commissioner had accepted. Reposing full confidence in the Chief Election Commissioner, "It is a good move and will help lessen the possibility of rigging in addition to ensuring security," he said.