Voting begins for Pakistan general election
Islamabad, July 25 : Voters in large numbers started flocking outside polling stations across the country on Wednesday to cast their vote in Pakistans 11th general election, according to DawnNewsTV.
The first vote was cast in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Charsadda.
While polling stations officially opened for voting at 8 a.m., enthusiastic citizens queued up outside their respective stations as early as 7 a.m.
The battle is set to come down to three parties: Shahbaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).
July 25 has been declared a public holiday by the Election Commission of Pakistan, in an effort to increase voter participation.
A record number of 3,71,388 security personnel have been deployed at polling stations across the country to maintain law and order and take action against harassment, after the nation witnessed one of the bloodiest campaigning.
According to a poll official, 5,878 polling stations have been declared "highly sensitive" -- official euphemism to mean they are prone to violence -- in Sindh; 5,487 in Punjab and Islamabad; 3,874 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA and 1,768 in Balochistan.
Polling stations will remain open for voting till 6 p.m.
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Tumkur: 24-year-old rider killed in car-bike head-on collision in Tiptur
Tiptur: A 24-year-old rider was killed on the spot in a head-on collision between his motorbike and a car near Bidiregudi of Kasaba hobli in the taluk.
The deceased rider, Vijay Kumar, was a resident of BL Koppalu Basaveshwara Nagara in Kasaba hobli, Arsikere taluk.
He was reportedly returning home after work at a welding factory near TM Manjunath Nagar Gate, Tiptur, when a car coming from the opposite direction collided with his bike near Bidiregudi. Vijay Kumar is said to have died at the spot due to the impact of the collision.
Locals have blamed the lack of signboards and other precautionary measures amid the construction of a four-lane national highway in the area, mainly between Bidiregudi and Konehalli. They have said that the carelessness of the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI) has led to frequent accidents in the region.
“A meeting of officers from various government departments, including the police, was held recently under the chairmanship of the local legislator, but several NHAI officials were reportedly absent. Despite the meeting, officials appear careless in implementing safety measures, leading to a rise in accidents,” the locals said, demanding immediate action from the concerned authorities.
