Islamabad, 8 Feb

People in Pakistan on Thursday voted in the general elections in which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is hoping to secure a record fourth term with the backing of the powerful military amid a crackdown on his rival Imran Khan's party and terror attacks on security personnel.

Amidst tight security, the polling started at 8am and will continue without any break till 5pm. Soon after the voting started, mobile services in Pakistan were suspended due to the "deteriorating security situation", a day after twin terror attacks killed at least 30 people in Balochistan province.

Four policemen on election duty were killed in a terror attack in Dera Ismail Khan on Thursday. A security officer was killed after gunmen opened fire at soldiers in the Tank area of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. A vehicle of the security forces was attacked by unknown persons with a rocket in the area of Mir Ali in the North Waziristan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Several politicians in the country immediately demanded the restoration of mobile and internet services. Some politicians said that shutting down mobile networks on polling day has raised suspicion and "is the beginning of election day rigging".

The Ministry of Interior said that the decision to suspend the mobile phone services will be re-evaluated at 3pm. The border crossing with Afghanistan and Iran will also remain closed both for cargo and pedestrians on Thursday due to security reasons.

A countrywide public holiday has been declared to enable a total of 128 million registered voters to cast their votes and elect a new government that they hope will stabilise the country's economy. The counting will start soon after the conclusion of the voting. Nearly 650,000 security personnel have been deployed across the country as at least 30 people were killed on Wednesday in twin blasts in the restive Balochistan province.

Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja said that elections will be held in a peaceful atmosphere. Raja said the Election Commission of Pakistan will not give any instructions to the interior ministry on the resumption of services. “If we ask them to turn mobile services on and a terror incident takes place, who will be responsible?” he questioned.

The CEC maintained that their system doesn’t rely on the internet. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a total of 5,121 candidates are in the race for the National Assembly (NA) seats. These include 4,807 male, 312 female and two transgenders. For the four provincial assemblies, 12,695 candidates are in the field including 12,123 males, 570 women and two transgenders.

A low turnout was witnessed in most constituencies after the opening of polls but the situation gradually improved as the day proceeded. In many places, some voters waited outside polling stations where the doors had not opened since the polling staff had not shown up for duty.

At many polling stations, the staff also complained about a shortage of ballot papers and incorrect papers leading to a long delay in the voting process. The cold weather and rains in some parts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also apparently kept away voters in many parts of the two provinces.

Abdul Wali, queuing up outside a polling station in the Gulraiz area of Rawalpindi, said that he was excited to cast his vote. “I am standing here with the hope that a new government will control prices and provide essential food items at cheaper rates,” said 45-year Wali.