General Election 2024
Live Reporting
Pakistan closes border crossings with Iran, Afghanistan for security during elections
(Web Desk) – Pakistan has closed its border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran for both cargo and pedestrians to ensure complete security during the general elections scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday).
The Foreign Office confirmed this development on its social media platform X.
The FO announced that normal operations would resume on Friday.
"To ensure full security during the general elections to be held in Pakistan on 8 Feb 2024, border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran, would remain closed both for cargo and pedestrians. Normal operations would resume on 9 Feb 2024," the FO stated in the post.
Controversial elections to fuel political instability, warns Kaira
GUJRAT (Dunya News) – Prominent PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira on Wednesday warned that if the Feb 8 election becomes as controversial as the previous one, it will lead towards political instability rather than stability.
Speaking to a group of reporters, Kaira expressed that while the current election seems different from Pakistan's previous ones, "we still should expect the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to lead us towards a better election".
Kaira noted that since the day Nawaz Sharif came back to Pakistan, the entire media is suggesting that he is being favoured. "We are a political party, and if someone else is being favoured by blocking our path, then it is our right to protest."
Cold, dry weather forecast on election day
ISLAMABAD (APP) – The upper parts of the country will remain in the grip of cold wave conditions on Election Day, Thursday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
Cold winds are also expected to blow across upper Punjab within the next 24 hours.
The synoptic situation indicates that continental air is prevailing over most parts of the country.
The PMD stated, "Mainly cold and dry weather is anticipated in most regions, with very cold conditions expected in the upper parts."
Ministry sets up control room to monitor security for elections
(Web Desk) – The Ministry of Interior has established a control room to monitor the overall security situation of the country during the general elections of 2024.
According to a news release, the control room will remain operational at all times to monitor the security situation and prevent untoward incidents.
The control room includes representatives from all relevant institutions, such as the Interior Department, Police and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), who will perform their duties in the control room and remain vigilant in this regard.
PTI founder, Sheikh Rashid cast votes in Adiala Jail
RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid, who are incarcerated in Adiala Jail, on Wednesday cast their votes vial postal ballot.
However, former chief minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and Bushra Bibi, the wife of the former prime minister, could not cast their votes.
Sources said 20 inmates of the Adiala Jail cast their votes as polling for general elections will be held on February 8 across Pakistan.
Bilawal mixes with commoners in Larkana streets
LARKANA (Dunya News) – PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari took a leisurely trip through Larkana on Wednesday.
In a social media post shared on X, Bilawal is seen driving through the streets of Larkana, making brief stopovers at different places to interact with citizens, mingle with children and take selfies.
The PPP chairman wrapped up his election campaign on Tuesday night, following a whirlwind tour of the four provinces where he addressed multitudes of people, rallying public support for his party in the upcoming Feb 8 elections.
JUI-F's Hafiz Hamdullah survives gun attack in Chaman
CHAMAN (Dunya News) – Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah survived a gun attack on Wednesday.
Police said that unidentified men opened fire on the JUI-F leader’s car near the Mezai Adda. Hafiz Hamdullah remained safe in the attack, while the attackers fled in response to the retaliatory firing by Hafiz Hamdullah's guards.
The JUI-F leader was travelling from Chaman to Quetta.
ECP issues guidelines for Form-45
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued instructions to the presiding officers for maintaining Form 45 after the polling process.
The ECP ordered the presiding officers to prepare Form 45 without failing.
The commission guided that the Form 45 must be signed with their ID cards, taking signatures of polling agents at the polling stations.
1,500 inmates in Punjab jails cast votes
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Approximately 1,500 prisoners exercised their right to vote via postal ballot papers in various prisons across Punjab on Wednesday.
According to reports, out of the 65,000 inmates incarcerated in Punjab's 43 prisons, nearly 1,500 participated in the electoral process through postal ballots.
Mian Farooq Nazeer, the Punjab Prisons IG, confirmed that these inmates were deemed eligible to vote.
ECP convenes emergency meeting today
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday called an emergency meeting to oversee the election arrangements.
The chief election commissioner will chair the meeting in members and secretary election commission will take part.
The four provincial election commissioners will also participate in the meeting via video link.
ECP rejects Salman Akram's plea for PTI affiliation
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected Salman Akram Raja’s plea to mention his affiliation with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Form-33.
The ECP released its reserved verdict on Raja’s plea, with DG Law Saima Janjua delivering the decision.
The commission had reserved its verdict against PTI candidate Raja's plea, seeking to be declared a PTI candidate rather than an independent candidate on Feb 2.
A timeline of key events leading up to Pakistan's parliamentary election
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A list of some key events over the last few years leading up to Pakistan’s parliamentary election on Thursday:
July 25, 2018 — Pakistanis vote for a new government in an election marred by violence and allegations of fraud.
July 26, 2018 — Former cricket star and the PTI founder wins the polls but has to seek out allies to form a coalition. A few weeks later, lawmakers elect him as the country’s prime minister.
Pakistan's election: Who's running, what's the mood and will anything change?
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s 127 million voters get to elect a new parliament on Thursday. The elections are the twelfth in the country’s 76-year history, which has been marred by economic crises, military takeovers and martial law, militancy, political upheavals and wars with India.
Forty-four political parties are vying for a share of the 266 seats that are up for grabs in the National Assembly, or the lower house of parliament, with an additional 70 seats reserved for women and minorities.
After the election, the new parliament chooses a prime minister. If no party wins an outright majority, then the one with the biggest share of assembly seats can form a coalition government.
At least 22 dead in Balochistan blasts which targeted JUI-F, independent candidates
KILLA ABDULLAH/PISHIN (Web Desk/Dunya News) – At least 22 people were killed and over 30 injured in two separate bomb blasts targeting the offices of candidates contesting the Feb 8 general elections in Pishin and Killa Saifullah districts of Balochistan on Wednesday.
According to details, the terrorism act in Killa Abdullah was carried out outside an election office of Maulana Abdul Wasay, a JUI-F leader, as people had gathered at the premises for a meeting.
Balochistan Caretaker Information Minister Jan Achakzai put the number of deaths at 10 and injured at eight. However, there are fears that the death toll may climb.
Arrest warrants for lecturers issued for refusing to perform election duty
LAHORE (Dunya News) - Arrest warrants of lecturers on Wednesday were issued for refusing to perform the election duty.
Earlier, on Tuesday it was decided to arrest those who did not do their election duties. The Returning Officer (RO) in the provincial metropolis issued order for the arrest of a teacher.
Also in NA 121 the RO issued an arrest warrant for Kot Khawaja Saeed's lecture for refusing election duty. However, no information was received whether the woman was arrested or not.
The ROs have clarified that strict action will be taken against those who hurdle the establishment of polling stations in private schools.
Also, the administration of a private school near FC College had prohibited the establishment of a polling station. Later, on the warning of the RO, the school allowed to set up a polling station.
Eight dead in Pishin blast at the office of a candidate
PISHIN (Web Desk/Dunya News) – At least eight people were killed and 10 injured on Wednesday in a bomb blast at the election office of a candidate in Pishin, Balochistan, less than 24 hours before Pakistan goes for polling.
The terrorists targeted the office of Asfandyar Yar Khan Kakar – an independent candidate for PB-47 – at Khanozai Bazar, which the headquarters of Karezat district – a new administrative unit created out of Pishin in 2022.
Soon after the deadly explosion, the law enforcers and security officials as well as administration officials reached the spot and started the rescue efforts with the help of locals.
According to the local officials, the severely injured persons are being shifted to Quetta which around 78 kilometres south of Khanozai.
With the law enforcing agency busy in securing the crime scene and launching a preliminary probe, there are reports that the bomb was planted in a bike parked outside the premises.
It’s a developing story. Details to follow
More than 1079 candidates are facing off in Lahore for election 2024
LAHORE (Dunya News) - In the provincial capital of Lahore, a fierce electoral competition is underway as more than 1079 candidates contend for 44 seats in the national and provincial assemblies.
The electoral landscape reveals a diverse array of contenders vying for representation in both the National Assembly and the Punjab Assembly.
For the 14 seats in the National Assembly, a total of 266 candidates have entered the fray, while a staggering 813 candidates are competing for the 30 constituencies in Lahore for Punjab Assembly seats.
Banners of PTI candidates in Haripur replaced overnight
HARIPUR (Dunya News) – With just one day to go in general elections, unidentified people in NA-118 and PK-45 (Haripur), replaced banners of Omer Ayub Khan and Akbar Ayub Khan with those showing different electoral symbols.
The banners and posters displayed on prominent place, squares and bypass showed Omer Ayub's election symbol as table instead of laptop, similarly they also showed Akbar Ayub's election symbol as thermos instead of dove
PPP will emerge victorious in general election: Kundi
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Central Information Secretary of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Faisal Karim Kundi on Tuesday said that the PPP will emerge victorious in the general election.
Talking to a private news channel, he affirmed the party's intention to forge a coalition government with allied parties.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk): Chief Election Commissioner, Sikanadar Sultan Raja met UNDP international observers at Election Monitor and Control Centre (EMCC).
Islamabad:Honourable Chief Election Commissioner, Sikanadar Sultan Raja met UNDP international observers at Election Monitor and Control Centre (EMCC) on 06-02-2024 #ECP pic.twitter.com/g7VA3u67KI
— Election Commission of Pakistan (OFFICIAL) (@ECP_Pakistan) February 6, 2024
ECP postpones polling in four constituencies due to death of candidates
LAHORE (Dunya News) - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has postponed elections in four constituencies due to death of candidates.
The constituencies where elections have been postponed include three provincial and one national assembly seat. Elections were postponed in PK-91 (Kohat) due to death of candidate Ismatullah Khattak.
ECP sets up 90,675 polling stations across country for Feb 8 polls
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has established 90,675 polling stations across the country for Feb 8 polls for the 12th general election 2024.
As per ECP, 25,320 polling stations for men and 23,952 for women have been established, while the total number of joint polling stations for men and women is 41,403 across the country.
Lacklustre electioneering ends with promises of bright future; ECP finalises arrangements for peaceful voting
LAHORE (Dunya News) – The lacklustre electioneering for the Feb 8 general elections ended at the stroke of mifnight on Tuesday as candidates tried their best to woo the voters.
On the last day of the campaign, PPP Chair¬pe¬rson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held a rally in Larkana — home to his maternal political dynasty — while PML-N patriarch Nawaz Sharif chose Kasur, the constituency of his younger brother Shehbaz, to show his strength in Punjab. He, however, cancelled another rally planned for Lahore.
Polling Day: ECP directs presiding officers to strictly follow guidelines regarding Forms-45
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed the presiding officers to follow the guidelines regarding the Forms-45 on the polling day.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja said that the Form-45 would be duly signed by the presiding officers and polling agents of the candidates.
The presiding officers would display the Form-45 outside the polling stations after making sure that it has been signed, he said.
