Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed independent candidates are leading on NA seats as results continue to pour in on Thursday.
Preliminary results of the 2024 general elections have started trickling in from different national and provincial constituencies as vote count began in evening following conclusion of daylong polling across the country.
People turned out in droves in many parts of Punjab and, eyewitnesses say, the young and the old showed a great deal of enthusiasm. There were long queues of people at some of the polling stations in Lahore, while some polling stations did not have too many people.
The Interior Ministry has said mobile phone services have been partially restored in parts of the country.
Earlier in the day, the ministry said mobile phone and internet services were suspended across Pakistan owing to security threats.
In a post on X a little after 8pm, it said cellular services have been restored in Bhakkar, Sargodha, Taxila, Gujar Khan Chakri, Loralai, Sibi, Jhal Magsi and all of Sindh except Malir and Karachi.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the suspension of internet and cellular services across Pakistan.
“Cutting off mobile communication services on an election day and preventing journalists from reporting from polling stations severely undermines citizens’ rights to stay informed,” said CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi.
