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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bagalkot: Four killed, including two-year-old child, as tractor trolley overturns in Jamkhandi
Bagalkot: Four people, including a two-year-old child, were killed after a tractor trolley carrying sugarcane harvesting workers overturned near Katti Keri in Jamkhandi early Saturday morning.
The accident occurred around 2:00 am when the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which went off the road and fell into a roadside ditch, causing the trolley to overturn.
The deceased were identified as Manish Pandey (23), Halaki Pandey (2), Lakshmi Chiramadi (27), and Rekha Bhuke. All were residents of Gupawadi in Bhosa taluk of Yavatmal district in Maharashtra.
More than 10 others sustained injuries and were admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Jamkhandi police rushed to the spot after receiving information and conducted a preliminary investigation. A case has been registered, and further inquiry is under way.
