Pakistan Election 2024 Live Updates: Voting has ended in Pakistan after eight hours amid claims of rigging and attacks on security personnel. The polls began against the backdrop of former PM Imran Kha's imprisonment, an economic crisis, rising militant violence and other woes.
Nearly 650,000 security personnel have been deployed across poll-bound Pakistan, including the personnel of police, civil armed forces, and the armed forces. At least 128 million Pakistanis will vote for 44 political parties contesting for 266 seats in the National Assembly.
Previously Khan's supporters have disseminated his messages, including through AI-generated audio speeches, from notes he has passed on through his lawyers during prison visits.
Pakistan elections: The South Asian nation of 241 million people is reeling from decades-high inflation and an economy that has come to a grinding halt as it navigates a tough International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme.
Pakistan's National Assembly has 336 seats, including 266 general seats, 60 seats reserved for women, and 10 for non-Muslims, a decrease of six seats overall after fresh delimitation. A total of 18,000 candidates would participate in federal and provincial elections on Thursday.
Dr Yasmin Rashid, running against Nawaz in Lahore's NA-130 constituency, was indicted in connection with the May 9 riots, where several military installations were vandalised in the wake of Imran's arrest. PTI leaders are contesting as independents as the party has been denied its electoral symbol.
Pakistan- a country where civilian governments have been upended by military takeovers and where the army has ruled the nation for half of its 76 years of independence, it’s often the traditional elites that have called the shots. Here are the key players ahead of the country’s elections.
Ahead of the mandatory moratorium, all major parties have plans for using the last day to hold rallies across the country with top leaders like Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Shehbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Asif Ali Zardari, Maulana Fazlur Reham and other addressing rallies in various cities.
A report said that high-profile prisoners could not be kept in jail factories, kitchens, hospitals, gardens, etc, among ordinary inmates. Therefore, both Imran Khan and Qureshi will be kept there in their compound for maintenance work or any other task assigned by the jail administration.
The development came with little more than a week left to Pakistan's February 8 elections, where Imran's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is contesting amid a state crackdown and without an electoral symbol.
The verdict marks Imran Khan's third conviction this week and his wife Bushra Bibi's second, as they were sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in the Toshakhana corruption case. Bushra Bibi's ex-husband Khawar Maneka accused Imran of marrying his wife while she was on her 'Iddat' period.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) stripped the PTI of its electoral symbol after declaring its intra-party elections held last year "unconstitutional". The PTI is battling a military-led crackdown ahead of the elections as its founder Imran Khan has been handed two back-to-back convictions.
Rehan Zaib Khan, contesting as an independent after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was denied an electoral symbol, was canvassing in the area when he was shot by unidentified assailants. Balochistan was rocked by several grenade blasts and the death of a political party worker on Wednesday.
The plea sought legal action against 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party supremo Imran Khan for marrying his present wife while she was reportedly on iddat period.
Imran has been barred from holding office for 10 years as he and his wife were slapped with a fine of Rs 787 million. They are accused of retaining a jewellery set received from the Saudi crown prince against an undervalued assessment.
Balochistan Health Secretary Abdullah Khan Noorzai had imposed an emergency at hospitals across Quetta and Sibi, according to a statement issued by the provincial health department.
Imran and Qureshi were first indicted in the case in October, but the Islamabad High Court scrapped the proceedings citing "errors". The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document brandished by Imran who claimed that it had proof of US involvement behind his ouster in 2022.
The man, who reportedly supported the Awami National Party, had an argument with his son over hoisting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) flag and shot with a pistol. The son died on his way to the hospital and the police is still searching for the accused.
The accreditation cards issued to foreign journalists and international observers were only restricted to Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. However, if any foreigner wants to visit any other city, it is being processed on a case-to-case basis, said a minister.
Imran Khan has faced several setbacks in the run-up to the elections, as his party has lost its 'bat' electoral symbol. On the top of that, the former PM is almost out of all options to contest the elections after the Lahore HC rejected his plea against rejection of nomination papers.
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