Pakistan went to the polls yesterday July 25, 2018, from 8 AM local time to send 272 members to the National Assembly under tight security.
The whole nation has been under virtual military siege with soldiers fanning across more than 85000 polling stations. The polling stopped at 6 PM local time, and the first results will be available by Thursday afternoon.
Live updates:
PTI - 113
(PML-N) - 66
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) - 39
Questions have been raised about the neutrality of the Army since the nation has a long record of military takeovers in the past.
The allegation of partiality by the army and muffling of the freedom of the press have been made by many local and foreign media houses.
Leaders of the main political parties like the PML (N) have been imprisoned on charges of money laundering and terrorism. A general belief is prevailing that the Army wants the PTI led by Imran Khan to win the elections. Imran Khan has been known to take a softer approach to the ISI and the Army and is also not averse to taking help from hard-line Islamist parties to form the government.
Watch news live:
The Pakistan Army has ruled the country for nearly half of its existence and has and continues to hold a big stake in the Politics of Pakistan. The army subsists on drumming up the Indian threat bogey, and India factor has been an important factor in any election.
Any party which tries to lead a less bellicose policy towards India often gets into loggerheads with the Pakistan Army. However in this election corruption has also been a big issue.
Both the parties led by Nawaz Sharif and the Bhutto clan have been accused of funneling money illegally into foreign accounts. Therefore the chances of PTI which has till now never been accused of corruption stands a good chance of winning the elections.
The runoff to the elections has been marred by violence and suicide attacks. According to latest reports 15 people have been killed in a suicide blast in Quetta in the restive province of Baluchistan which has been wracked by separatist violence for the last 30 years.
