Counting of votes begins at Pakistan polling stations
Islamabad, July 25 : Counting of votes began on Wednesday at various poll booths in Pakistan where polling was over, media reports said.
Even as the doors of polling stations closed at 6 p.m, voters present inside the booths were allowed to cast their votes.
Polling began at 8 a.m across the country's 85,307 polling stations and continued until 6 p.m despite calls by major parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to extend the voting time by an hour.
The parties had complained of "slow voting process" and therefore had sought more time to facilitate voters, a request that was dismissed by the Election Commission (EC), Geo News reported.
The election campaign was marred by violence, with three candidates killed in targeted attacks and culminated with a suicide blast outside a polling station in Quetta which claimed at least 37 lives.
However, undeterred, a majority of Pakistan's nearly 106 million registered voters came out to cast their ballot, including women in areas where they previously stood disenfranchised due to various issues.
As many as 12,570 candidates contested for a total of 849 seats of national and provincial assemblies in the country's 11th General Election.
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Hubballi: Gym trainer assaulted; police say clash due to personal reasons
Hubballi: A gym trainer was allegedly assaulted by a group of people following accusations of sexual assault and ‘love jihad’, even as both families involved in the case traded serious allegations.
According to police, a group of individuals went to the residence of Sameer Mulla, a resident of Vijayanagar, and questioned him over his friendship with a woman he had met at a gym. The situation escalated into a clash, during which he was allegedly dragged away and assaulted. He sustained minor injuries and was admitted to KIMS hospital.
N. Shashikumar said that after this incident, members from Sameer’s side went to the woman’s house, leading to another clash in which one person was injured. “It was wrong for groups to go near houses. We will take necessary legal action,” he said, adding that the incident appears to have arisen from personal reasons. Police have taken some individuals into custody and are investigating the matter.
Sameer Mulla was reportedly thrashed by a group of Sangh Parivar activists and later handed over to police at the Old Hubballi Police Station after relatives of the woman and members of Hindu organisations gathered at his residence in Rajnagar.
The woman’s family alleged assault and threats from Sameer’s relatives at their Vikas Nagar residence.
Meanwhile, Sameer’s family denied the allegations and accused the woman’s relatives and others of assaulting and kidnapping him. His sister said the two had been in a relationship for three years and that the allegations were baseless.
Police said statements from both sides have been recorded, and a detailed investigation is underway. Sameer remains hospitalised, and appropriate legal action will be taken based on findings.
In a video statement shared on social media, the 20-year-old woman alleged that Sameer had given her an intoxicant, recorded videos without her consent, and sexually assaulted her. She lodged a complaint alleging rape and blackmail, which police are investigating.
In another video, Sameer denied the allegations, claiming the video was recorded with consent and that the accusations were made under pressure.
Former Hubballi-Dharwad Urban Development Authority (HDUDA) chairman Nagesh Kalburgi termed the incident a serious matter and urged police to take strict action.
Police said the case involves multiple complaints from both sides, and further investigation is underway.
