- Written by Yvette Tan & Caroline Davis
- Singapore and Lahore
Nawaz Sharif (right) and his daughter Maryam are voting to become prime minister for a fourth time.
Pakistan has cut off mobile phone calls and data services as millions of people head to polling stations to cast their votes for the new government.
An Interior Ministry spokesperson said the measure was justified, citing recent terrorist incidents in the country.
The election will be held for the first time in almost two years since former prime minister Imran Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, was ousted in a no-confidence vote.
Three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif is currently on the ballot in what many analysts say is Pakistan’s least reliable election ever.
Khan was jailed last year on corruption charges and is barred from appearing in court.
Both calling and data services have been suspended, but the Wi-Fi network appears to still be working.
One voter told the BBC he was shocked by the decision and said: “Voters should be encouraged to vote, not encouraged.” [having to be met with] Such a hurdle.”
Another woman said she expected a complete shutdown.
Many voters in Lahore told the BBC that an internet outage meant they were unable to book taxis to vote, while others were unable to chat with other family members to arrange a time to get to the polling station. Some people said that.
Justifying the move, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs said: “Precious lives have been lost as a result of recent terrorist incidents in the country. Security measures are necessary to maintain the law and order situation and deal with potential threats. It is essential.”
The closure was also criticized by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who called for services to be restored “immediately”. Bhutto, who is also running for the top spot, said her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had approached the Election Commission and the courts to restore services.
The country is on high alert, with heavy security in place at polling stations across the country. One train station in Lahore visited by the BBC had armed guards stationed at the entrance and military officers roaming the area.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Afghanistan’s border crossings with Iran were closed to both cargo and pedestrians to “ensure complete security” during the voting period.
The country has shut down internet services in the past to control the flow of information, but a shutdown of this scale is unprecedented, especially during an election period.
Absolutely Fair Elections: Nawaz Sharif
Mr Sharif and his daughter Mariam voted in Iqra, Lahore on Thursday afternoon. Security was tight, with police in a ring and Jeeps rigged with antennas to jam phone signals.
When the two entered the station, black cars were lined up around them.
Asked if he thought the elections were free and fair, Sharif said: “Absolutely fair.”
“I’ve never had any problems with the military,” he told the BBC in an interview outside the polling station after voting.
Mr Sharif was clearly referring to Pakistan under Mr Khan, speaking of “lack of civility, arrogance and this culture that disrupts and destroys the country”.
He said he entered the prison with his family and “made the sacrifice and are now here to witness this day.” He said if his party wins, “people’s lives will be easier, inflation will go down. This is what the people want, this is their wish, and their wishes will come true.” added.
Voting ends at 17:00 local time (12:00 GMT). Strict rules on election reporting, including what can be said about candidates, campaigns and polls, will continue until 23:59 local time on Thursday. It is unclear how quickly the results will be announced, but they should be announced within two weeks of voting.
Armed police guarded a public school at one polling station in Lahore.
Outside one polling station in the city of Multan in Punjab province, some female poll workers told the BBC that they were not allowed to enter the polling station and were unable to observe the voting process.
Female voters are usually given seats in the booth.
In Lahore, dozens of voters crammed into the narrow hallways of a school in Naseerabad, with some waiting more than two hours to cast their votes.
Intensification of violence and economic strife
Some 128 million people are registered to vote, almost half of them under the age of 35. More than 5,000 candidates (of which only 313 are women) are vying for 266 directly elected seats in the 336-member National Party. assembly.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP are considered the two major parties going to the polls.
However, Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI) has found it even more difficult to choose a candidate after all candidates are banned from running using the cricket bat symbol. There is.
The move forced PTI-backed candidates running as independents to use other symbols such as a calculator, electric heater and dice instead. Election symbols play an important role in a country where more than 40% of people are illiterate.
Symbols such as polar bears and peacocks appear on ballots.
The PTI has used other tactics to prevent candidates from campaigning and winning seats, including imprisoning PTI members and supporters and banning them from holding rallies, effectively forcing them underground. They claim that tactics have also been used.
Imran Khan was sentenced in three separate cases in five days last week and has been sentenced to at least 14 years in prison. PTI alleges interference by Pakistan’s powerful military, which Khan is said to have fallen out with before being ousted and imprisoned.
But people will be able to vote for PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, who was facing a prison sentence for corruption at the time of the last election.
The former prime minister, who was ousted in a military coup in 1999 and had his third term cut short in 2017, recently returned from self-imposed exile. She revoked his lifetime ban from holding office and had his criminal record expunged late last year, allowing him to run for a record fourth term.
However, it is not yet clear which party will be able to win the required 169-seat majority in parliament.
Nawaz Sharif (left) and Bilawal Bhutto (centre) can stand, but Imran Khan (right) cannot run because he is in prison
Millions of people have been hit hard by the country’s economic hardship, which was made worse by the devastating floods of 2022. Inflation is skyrocketing and people are struggling to pay their bills.
According to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), violence in Pakistan will increase for the third consecutive year in 2023, with the highest number of deaths involving security forces, militants and civilians since 2017. It is said that it became.
Pakistan’s Election Commission classified half of the 90,675 polling stations as either “sensitive,” meaning there is a risk of violence, or “most sensitive,” indicating a higher risk. The classification is based on the region’s security situation and history of electoral violence.
Additional reporting by BBC Urdu and Flora Drury
