Islamabad: Pakistanis voted today in a tense election to choose a new government as at least 34 people were killed in a suicide blast and poll-related violence, amidst charges of manipulation by the powerful Army and concerns over the participation of Islamic hardliners.

Hours after polling began for the general elections, a suicide blast hit Bhosa Mandi area of Balochistan’s provincial capital, Quetta, killing 31 people.

In separate incidents, three persons were killed in poll-related violence outside polling stations. Clashes erupted between rival parties outside several polling stations, reports said.

Nearly 106 million people are registered to vote for members of the lower house of parliament and four provincial assemblies. The election marks the second democratic transition of power in the nation’s 70-year history.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), 3,459 candidates are contesting for 272 general seats of the National Assembly, while 8,396 candidates are running for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies – Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The voting started at 8 AM local time on more than 85,000 polling stations. The counting of votes will be done on the spot soon after the conclusion of the polling process at 6 PM and results will be announced within 24 hours.

While polling stations officially opened for voting at 8 AM, enthusiastic citizens queued up outside their respective stations as early as 7 AM.

More than 30 political parties have fielded their candidates for the elections.

The Opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, is looking to unseat the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which was formally led by the now jailed ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is also in the race.

Shahbaz Sharif, the president of the PML-N who is hoping to become the next prime minister of Pakistan, was among the first people to cast his vote in Lahore.

“Just cast my vote. High time that all of you came out to vote for Pakistan’s progress and prosperity. May this election be a source of peace and stability for the nation!,” he tweeted after casting his vote.

PTI chairman Khan, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also cast their vote in their respective constituencies.

According to a survey of polls computed by Gallup Pakistan on the eve of general elections, Khan’s PTI and the PML-N are running “neck and neck”, with the PTI ahead nationally and the PML-N ahead in the crucial province of Punjab.

For a smooth polling process, the ECP has deployed around 1.6 million staff at polling stations across the country.

About 449,465 policemen and over 370,000 military personnel have been deployed for security.

In a special message yesterday, Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Raza Khan urged voters to fulfil their national duty of casting the ballot.

A public holiday has been declared across the country on Wednesday in order to facilitate the voting process.

Pakistan’s National Assembly comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 will be directly elected today whereas the rest – 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities – are selected later through proportional representation among parties with more than five per cent of the vote.

A party can only form the government if it manages to clinch 172 seats in total.

The run up to the elections have seen a massive crackdown on the media and allegations that the military has secretly backed the campaign of Khan while targeting his political opponents.

The military has ruled Pakistan through various coups for nearly half of the country’s history since independence in 1947. Even during the civilian rule, the generals have wielded enormous power, setting the agenda for the country’s foreign and security policies.

The ECP was also criticised for deploying the Army both inside and outside of polling stations.

Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa, however, assured that the Army will only perform a facilitative role in the polls and that the polling process is to remain under the control and authority of the ECP.

Former prime minister Sharif, the supremo of the PML-N who was jailed this month after being convicted in a corruption case, also accused the military of pressuring the judiciary to convict him. Both institutions deny the charge.

Controversy has also arisen over allowing militant groups to participate in the elections.

Some of the infamous Pakistani extremist leaders, accused of spreading religious hatred and instigating sectarian violence, are among hundreds of candidates contesting the elections.

The leading among them are Mumbai-terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led banned Jamat-ud Dawa’s candidates who are fighting with an aim to make Pakistan a “citadel of Islam.”

In the run up to the elections, the country also witnessed a series of deadly attacks targeting candidates and campaign rallies, including one that killed 151 people in Balochistan province.

A fierce battle is expected between the PML-N and Khan’s PTI in Punjab, the most populous province often known for deciding the next government in the country.

Khan has pledged to break the decades-old two party “status quo” of the PML-N and its historical rival the PPP. (PTI) </s> ISLAMABAD, Jul 25 (APP):The polling for general election 2018 started on Wednesday throughout the country to elect candidates for National and provincial assemblies.

 The polling which was started at 8:00am will continue without any break till 6:pm. The

 Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has completed all arrangements to hold free, fair and transparent elections.

 Total 105,955,409 registered voters will cast their vote that included 59,224,263 male and

 46,731,146 female voters.

 The ECP has established total 85,058 polling stations and 244,687 polling booths throughout the country. A total of 819,119 polling staff have been deputed.

 Total 11,673 candidates are contesting elections out of which 3,428 are for National

 Assembly while 8,245 are for provincial assemblies. For National Assembly 1,805

 candidates are contesting election from different political parties while 1,623 are independent candidates.

 Similarly, for provincial assemblies, as many as 3,856 candidates are contesting from political parties while 4,389 independent candidates are also contesting. For reserved seats 44 candidates are contesting election for National Assembly while 113 for provincial assemblies for Non-Muslim reserved seats.

 As many as 172 candidates for National Assembly and 386 candidates for provincial assembly will contest for provincial assemblies on seats reserved for Women. </s> PESHAWAR: Up to 2,662,550 registered voters in the erstwhile Fata would exercise their right to vote for the first time in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly election scheduled for July 2.

According to the elections schedule, polling would be held for 16 provincial assembly seats in the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A total of 1,943 polling stations have been established for the upcoming polls. Under the 25th constitutional amendment, the tribal areas were merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on May 31, 2018. The people of the merged districts would for the first time get representation in the provincial assembly. They already have 20 seats in the parliament, including 12 in the National Assembly and eight in the Senate. As per population, the former tribal agencies and semi-tribal areas have been divided into 16 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly constituencies. Bajaur and Khyber districts will have three provincial assembly constituencies each while Mohmand, Kurram, South Waziristan and North Waziristan districts would have two provincial assembly seats each. Orakzai and the former Frontier Regions (FRs) would have one each provincial assembly seat. Four seats have been reserved for women while one seat for the members of the minorities residing in the tribal districts. It is the first time that women and the minorities would be represented in any democratic institution. According to the information provided by ECP, a total of 15,99,384 male registered voters and 10,63,166 female voters have been registered in the merged districts. Bajaur has the highest number of voters (522,480), followed by Khyber district with 490,030 registered voters.

Out of the total 1,943 polling stations, 497 polling stations have been established for male voters and 390 for women. The joint polling stations tally is 1,056. Bajaur has been divided into three provincial assembly constituencies. It already has two NA seats. Khyber also has three provincial assembly seats and two in the NA. About 271,251 registered voters in Mohmand district would elect two MPAs in the KP Assembly. As many as 352,794 registered voters in the Kurram district would cast their votes for two provincial assembly seats. </s> PESHAWAR: Up to 2,662,550 registered voters in the erstwhile Fata would exercise their right to vote for the first time in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly election scheduled for July 2.

According to the elections schedule, polling would be held for 16 provincial assembly seats in the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A total of 1,943 polling stations have been established for the upcoming polls. Under the 25th constitutional amendment, the tribal areas were merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on May 31, 2018. The people of the merged districts would for the first time get representation in the provincial assembly. They already have 20 seats in the parliament, including 12 in the National Assembly and eight in the Senate. As per population, the former tribal agencies and semi-tribal areas have been divided into 16 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly constituencies. Bajaur and Khyber districts will have three provincial assembly constituencies each while Mohmand, Kurram, South Waziristan and North Waziristan districts would have two provincial assembly seats each.

Orakzai and the former Frontier Regions (FRs) would have one each provincial assembly seat. Four seats have been reserved for women while one seat for the members of the minorities residing in the tribal districts. It is the first time that women and the minorities would be represented in any democratic institution. According to the information provided by ECP, a total of 15,99,384 male registered voters and 10,63,166 female voters have been registered in the merged districts. </s> The Latest: Khan votes, hoping to become Pakistan's next PM

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Latest on Pakistan's elections (all times local):

Pakistan's opposition leader Imran Khan, who aspires to be the country's next prime minister, has cast his ballot near his suburban home in the capital, Islamabad.

Khan voted as elections got underway in Pakistan where the nation is electing a new National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, and four provincial assemblies on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, an explosion outside a crowded polling station in the southwestern city of Quetta killed 25 people and wounded 40.

Another prominent candidate in the elections — late Prime minister Benazir Bhutto's son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — also cast his vote, in his native town of Larkana.

Khan, who heads Tehrik-e-Insaf, or Justice Party, is likely to do well in the elections. He arrived at the polling station to warm greetings from supporters who showered his vehicle with rose petals.

After voting, Khan appealed on Pakistanis to come out in large numbers and vote sensibly "to save future generations."

The young Zaradri, who is now heading her slain mother's Pakistan People's Party, condemned the bombing in Quetta.

A Pakistan hospital official says an explosion outside crowded polling station in southwestern city of Quetta has killed 25 people and wounded 40. Jaffer Kakar, a doctor, says five policemen and two children are among the dead. He fears the death toll could rise as many of the wounded are in critical condition.

Wednesday's attack comes as Pakistanis vote in general elections for 270 members of the law-making National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, and 577 seats in four provincial assemblies.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion.

Abdur Razzaq Cheema, the police chief in Quetta, Baluchistan's provincial capital, says the explosion took place when near the city's eastern bypass.

Baluchistan also saw the deadliest suicide bombing in the run-up to election day, with 149 people, including a provincial assembly candidate, killed at a campaign this month.

Pakistani police say a shooting between supporters of two opposing political parties has left one person dead and wounded two people in a village near the northwestern city of Sawabi.

It is the first violence on election day in Pakistan. Ahead of Wednesday's balloting, over 170 people — including three candidates running in the elections — were killed in suicide bombings in southwestern Baluchistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

Police officer Khalid Hamdani says it's unclear what triggered the shootout between a group of supporters of the secular Awami National Party, which has often bbeen targeted by the Taliban, and the Tehrik-e-Insaf led by former cricket star Imran Khan, a center-right party.

Hamdani says the situation is now under control and voting is underway in Col Sher Khan village.

A hard-line Pakistani cleric who heads an alliance of religious parties and the country's parliament speaker have cast their ballots in the general elections underway in Pakistan.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman voted in the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan soon after polls opened on Wednesday.

His Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal is a potential threat to opposition leader, former cricket star Imran Khan's party in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Khan's party has ruled the province for the last five years.

Rehman appealed to citizens after casting his ballot to cast their votes with the full sense of responsibility so capable hands could take over the country.

Ayaz Sadiq, speaker of the National Assembly, voted in the eastern city of Lahore.

Pakistan Muslim League chief Shahbaz Sharif cast his vote in the eastern city of Lahore soon after polls opened in national elections.

Sharif, the younger brother of disgraced ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, took over the ruling Pakistan Muslim League last year after his brother was found guilty of corruption. The ex-prime minister has since been sentenced to 10 years in jail, which he is serving while appealing the conviction.

The younger Sharif stood in line waiting his turn to enter the polling booth. In Pakistan, a candidate can run for elections in multiple seats. If the candidate wins more than one seat, a by-election will be held as a person can represent only one constituency.

Sharif marked his ballot for both the National and Punjab provincial Parliaments and is contesting elections in four National Assembly seats and in two Punjab provincial legislature seats.

Pakistanis began voting in a historic third straight election ending a campaign marred by widespread allegations of manipulation that local and international rights group say imperils the country's wobbly transition to democratic rule.

There are 85,307 polling stations across Pakistan and more than 11,000 candidates are vying for 270 seats in parliament and 570 seats in four provincial assemblies. Voting for two parliament seats and six seats in provincial assemblies has been postponed for a later date, due to attacks on candidates or disqualifications. One candidate in the Sindh provincial assembly was unopposed and has already secured that seat.

Under Pakistani law, separate seats are reserved for women and for non-Muslim minorities, who comprise 4 percent of the population. </s> People wait in queue at a polling station to cast their votes in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 25, 2018. After an acrimonious campaign, polls opened in Pakistan on Wednesday to elect the country’s third straight civilian election, a first for this majority Muslim nation that has been directly or indirectly ruled by its military for most of its 71-year history. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) People wait in queue at a polling station to cast their votes in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 25, 2018. After an acrimonious campaign, polls opened in Pakistan on Wednesday to elect the country’s third straight civilian election, a first for this majority Muslim nation that has been directly or indirectly ruled by its military for most of its 71-year history. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)

In a progressive step, women of Upper Dir, a conservative tribal district of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, set a precedent on Wednesday by casting their vote in Pakistan’s general elections, PTI quoted a media report.

Women in Upper Dir, which was once a Taliban stronghold, had been deprived of their right to cast their ballots since the 70s, when the country held its first general elections, on the pretext of cultural taboos.

Women were seen standing outside the polling stations in constituencies NA-5 and PK-12 of Upper Dir as the country went to polls, PTI quoted Geo news.

Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had said that a constituency which stopped women from voting, the election in its constituency would become invalid.

The ECP added that in case the female turnout in the elections should be lower than 10 per cent, the results of the constituency would be declared invalid.

Upper Dir has a total of 447,414 registered voters. Nearly 106 million people are registered to vote in the elections. The polling began at 8.00 am Pakistan time and will conclude at 6.00 pm and the results are likely to be announced within 24 hours.

The contest in Pakistan has largely boiled down to a tight race between former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

For all the latest Pakistan News, download Indian Express App </s> People stand in a line as they wait for a polling station to open, during general election in Rawalpindi, Pakistan July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistanis began voting on Wednesday in a knife-edge general election between former cricketer Imran Khan against the party of jailed ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Reuters witnesses and national media reported.

Most forecasters are predicting a hung parliament that will require a coalition government as the razor thin polling lead by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party over Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is unlikely to result in a majority from the 272 elected seats in the National Assembly. </s> At least 32 people were killed and several injured mostly in a suicide bombing in Balochistan on Wednesday as millions of voters queued up across Pakistan to elect a new government.

The Balochistan bombing targeted the convoy of Deputy Inspector General of Police Abdul Razzaq Cheema near a polling station. It left 31 persons, including some policemen, dead. The senior police official escaped unhurt, Geo News reported.

The area was crowded as people were making their way to vote at Tameer-e-Nau Model School. Polling was halted at the polling station.

While polling stations officially opened for voting at 8 a.m., enthusiastic citizens queued up outside their respective stations as early as 7 a.m. Voting will officially end at 6 p.m. while as counting of the votes was being done simultaneously.

Results for the 11th general elections are expected to trickle in immediately after the polling ends with the final outcome likely by Thursday morning or afternoon, according to election officials.

A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) worker was killed and two others injured as party activists clashed with Awami National Party (ANP) workers outside a polling station in Nawan Kali in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to Express News.

The workers of the two parties clashed in Mardan as well. Several people have been injured in the firing incident. Following the clash, police took control of the affected area.

Two people were also injured in a firing incident in Dera Murad Jamali in Balochistan.

In a separate incident, four people were injured in a blast outside a political camp in Larkana, in Sindh province, the home of the Bhutto family.

Independent candidate Jibran Nasir said that Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan supporters attacked a facilitation camp he had set up in Chandio Village in Karachi.

As many as 12,570 candidates are contesting for a total of 849 seats of national and provincial assemblies in the general election. Nearly 106 million people are eligible to vote.

The battle is set to come down to three parties: Shahbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Imran Khan’s PTI.

In an effort to increase voter participation, the Election Commission has declared a public holiday on Wednesday.

Over four lakh security personnel have been deployed at polling stations across the country to maintain law and order and take action against harassment, after the nation witnessed one of the bloodiest campaigning, inlcuding the July 13 bombing that killed 150 people.

According to a poll official, 5,878 polling stations have been declared “highly sensitive” — official euphemism to mean they are prone to violence — in Sindh; 5,487 in Punjab and Islamabad; 3,874 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and FATA and 1,768 in Balochistan.

The elections are being held as emotions run over a graft case that led to the imprisonment of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz.

Sharif’s PML-N has condemned the legal cases facing its members, and reported pressures to leave the party along with harassment to prevent it from returning to power after its absolute majority in 2013.

These elections are the second in Pakistan’s history in which a government was able to complete its term to make way for another government after being ruled by military dictators for half of the 71 years of its existence since its founding in 1947. </s> world

Updated: Jul 26, 2018 01:09 IST

At least 29 people were killed and several others injured in blasts and clashes on Wednesday across Pakistan as millions turned up to vote for the general and assembly elections, officials said.

Several reports media said more than 28 people were killed in the NA-260 constituency of Quetta, the capital of the troubled Balochistan province, in an attack targeting a police van. Television images showed a charred police vehicle, cordoned off by security officials. (Live updates)

“(The bomber) was trying to enter the polling station. When police tried to stop him he blew himself up,” a local administration official in Quetta, Hashim Ghilzai, told news agency AFP.

Supporters of two rival parties exchanged fire outside a polling station in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, killing a worker of former cricketer Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and injuring two others, news agency PTI reported citing the police.

It added that the Khan’s party worker was killed as activists clashed with Awami National Party supporters at the polling station in Nawan Kali of Swabi district after voting opened for the general elections.

In Larkana, in the southern province of Sindh and the home of the Bhutto family, at least three people were injured after an explosion was reported outside a polling station in NA-200 constituency, near Shah Muhammad School.

Deputy inspector general (DIG) Akbar Riaz told Geo News the cracker blast targeted a Pakistan People’s party (PPP) camp and added polling continued despite the attack.

Clashes between workers of opposing parties were also reported from several areas.

The military has deployed more than 370,000 troops to ensure security on the polling day amid fears of further attacks after a series of bombings killed hundreds of people during campaign rallies.

Opinion polls in the run-up to the Pakistan assembly election have put Khan’s PTT a little ahead of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan Peoples’ Party of Bilawal Bhutto in the third place.

Thousands of candidates belonging to extremist and militant sectarian groups are also contesting the general elections in Pakistan.

To gain a majority, a party needs 137 of the 272 elected National Assembly seats. A further 70 seats for women and minorities are awarded proportionally based on the voting percentages.

No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed their term.

First Published: Jul 25, 2018 12:17 IST
Voters in Pakistan go to the polls to elect the members of the National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan.