As Pakistan’s national election began on Thursday, the interior ministry announced that mobile phone services had been temporarily banned to bolster security.
The government’s decision was made the day after imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan urged his supporters to remain outside polling places after casting their ballots until the results were announced and amid an increase in terrorist attacks in the lead-up to the election.
“As a result of the recent incidents of terrorism in the country precious lives have been lost, security measures are essential to maintain the law and order situation and deal with possible threats, hence the temporary suspension of mobile services across the country,” the interior ministry stated in a message posted to X.
In the southwest region of Balochistan, there were two explosions close to election headquarters on Wednesday, leaving 26 people dead.
Daesh posted a message on its Telegram channel claiming responsibility for the explosions. Numerous other factions, such as the separatist Baloch militants and the Islamist Pakistani Taliban (TTP), are hostile to the Pakistani government and have launched operations in the past few months.
Thousands of troops and paramilitary soldiers are on duty nationwide, including at polling places, as part of the nation’s high alert state. Pakistan likewise declared that, for security reasons, it was closing its borders with Afghanistan and Iran for the day.
A clear picture is expected to emerge early on Friday, a few hours after voting closes at 5 p.m. (1200 GMT). Unofficial preliminary results are anticipated shortly after that.
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