Only inmates with valid computerised national identity cards (CNICs) were allowed to vote, Dawn reported quoting jail authorities as saying…reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf founder Imran Khan on Thursday cast his vote for the general elections by a postal ballot from Adiala Jail, local media reported.
Other incarcerated leaders who could vote included former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, former Punjab province chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid, and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry.
However, Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, could not vote as she was convicted and arrested after the completion of the postal voting process.
Only inmates with valid computerised national identity cards (CNICs) were allowed to vote, Dawn reported quoting jail authorities as saying.
In a post on X on Wednesday, PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan had said that former prime minister Khan had dedicated everything, including his life, to restore the country’s dignity, honour and sovereignty and ensure the welfare of people.
“As citizens of the country, we have a debt to pay. We must use our vote to change the face of Pakistan by dismantling a rotten system that has cast a vicious stranglehold on the country and its people,” Hasan said.
General Elections Begin Amid Tight Security
Polling for Pakistan general elections began on Thursday at 90,000 polling stations across the country amid tight security.
The polling began at 8:00 a.m. local time and will end at 5 p.m.
Minutes before polling began, mobile internet services were temporarily suspended across the country, Dawn reported.
“The step has been taken due to recent surge in terrorist activities,” the country’s interior ministry said,
Islamabad police said security is in place and polling stations are being manned since Wednesday morning.
Polling for the four provincial assemblies is being held on the same day.
Over 128 million people, or more than half of the country’s total population, are eligible to vote in the general elections.
Elections were to be held for 266 seats in the lower house, but the elections for one of the seats had been postponed due to the death of a candidate, according to the ECP.
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