Mobile services is Shutting down During In Pakistan Elections 2024
Pakistan suspended phone service on Thursday during the nation's general election, which was clouded by accusations of vote-rigging and terrorist assaults.
Phone services, including mobile internet, have been suspended for security reasons, according to the caretaker administration.
Two bomb explosions on Wednesday targeted election offices in Balochistan, a volatile region. The Islamic State claimed credit for the attacks.
Pakistan's interior ministry declared that it was necessary to "take measures to safeguard against threats" due to the "deteriorating security situation."
The acting interior minister, Gohar Ejaz, stated he had no choice when speaking at an Islamabad polling place. "We lost 28 people in an attack yesterday that was planned using mobile phones," he stated. Although I didn't want to, terrorists can
The number of individuals registered to vote exceeded 128 million. The polls were open from 8 a.m. (0300 GMT) to 5 p.m.
On election day, over 650,000 security guards were stationed throughout Pakistan, with a disproportionately high concentration in the regions of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which had been hardest hit by an increase in terrorist assaults.
On Thursday, gunmen opened fire on a security forces vehicle in Tank, around 25 miles to the north, killing one person, while five police officers perished in a bombing in the Kulachi area of the Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In Balochistan, more than a dozen explosions involving grenades or homemade explosive devices resulted in the death of one civilian soldier and the injuries of ten more.
Concerns that the election would not be free or fair were stoked by political parties and candidates criticizing the suspension of mobile services, which they claimed meant there would be little accountability for actions made at polling places. It was denounced by Amnesty International as a "reckless attack on people's rights."
A few contenders and electors have claimed that the election results may be manipulated in order to restore power to Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), who served as prime minister three times.Sharif is thought to be the preferred candidate of Pakistan's strong military, who are seen as the nation's power brokers and have a history of election manipulation.
The independent candidate in Islamabad, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, declared on X that "election day rigging begins with shutting down mobile networks on polling day."
"Pre-election conditions were among the worst in Pakistan's history. It is wrong to cut off candidates on election day from their representatives and workers.
Pakistan People’s party, which is run by the powerful Bhutto family dynasty, submitted a letter to the chief justice, urging him to order the internet to be restored, alleging that it had “impacted voter turnout” as the electorate were unable to access information about their polling stations.
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