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| Pak votes amid unprecedented security | | | Islamabad | Feb 18
Pakistan went to polls today to elect a new parliament amidst unprecedented security even as fears of violence and rigging loomed large over the election process that will clinch the fate of President Pervez Musharraf.
Hours before the polls, the southern Balochistan province was rocked by a series of 20 blasts while a PML-N candidate and three other persons were gunned down in two incidents of violence in the central city of Lahore.
Suspected militants also blew up a polling station in the restive Swat valley in northwestern Pakistan.
Over 81 million voters are eligible to take part in the polling that began at 8 AM (8.30 AM IST). The violent campaign that was marked by the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto and a series of suicide bombings is widely expected to result in a low turnout.
The balloting ended at 5 PM (5.30 PM IST) and the first results were expected late tonight.
Polling has been put off in northwestern Parachinar region in Kurram tribal agency where 49 people were killed in a suicide attack on the last day of polling on Saturday.
Security was also beefed up along the border with Afghanistan, with a large contingent of Khyber Rifles and Frontier Constabulary deployed in Khyber Agency, where Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan had gone missing last week.
Alleging that the government will resort to "massive rigging" to benefit the ruling PML-Q, opposition parties like the Pakistan People's Party and PML-N have warned that they will launch street protests if they are denied victory in the polls.
Musharraf, who could face possible impeachment if the opposition secures a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and unites against him, has pledged the elections will be free and fair.
He has also made it clear that he will not tolerate protests after the elections to the national and four provincial assemblies and said he will play a "father figure" to the next premier.
As part of the strict security arrangements, the government has deployed 81,000 troops and nearly 400,000 police personnel to provide security to the more than 64,000 polling stations, a third of which have been declared sensitive.
Recent opinion polls have shown that a majority of Pakistanis fear the polling will not be free and fair. The surveys have also predicted that the PPP and PML-N are likely to emerge the two largest groups with the PML-Q in a distant third place.
PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari warned yesterday in an interview that his party would have no option to take to the streets if the polls are rigged while PML-N chief and two-time former premier Nawaz Sharif said fraudulent polls could plunge Pakistan into chaos.
Past polls in Pakistan have traditionally been marked by low turnouts of about 40 per cent and a similar phenomenon is expected in today's balloting. Experts also believe this could benefit the PML-Q.
Zardari and Sharif are expected to meet tomorrow to decide their future course of action once it becomes clear whether the polls were rigged, sources in their parties said.Pak votes amid unprecedented security
Islamabad | Feb 18
Pakistan went to polls today to elect a new parliament amidst unprecedented security even as fears of violence and rigging loomed large over the election process that will clinch the fate of President Pervez Musharraf.
Hours before the polls, the southern Balochistan province was rocked by a series of 20 blasts while a PML-N candidate and three other persons were gunned down in two incidents of violence in the central city of Lahore.
Suspected militants also blew up a polling station in the restive Swat valley in northwestern Pakistan.
Over 81 million voters are eligible to take part in the polling that began at 8 AM (8.30 AM IST). The violent campaign that was marked by the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto and a series of suicide bombings is widely expected to result in a low turnout.
The balloting ended at 5 PM (5.30 PM IST) and the first results were expected late tonight.
Polling has been put off in northwestern Parachinar region in Kurram tribal agency where 49 people were killed in a suicide attack on the last day of polling on Saturday.
Security was also beefed up along the border with Afghanistan, with a large contingent of Khyber Rifles and Frontier Constabulary deployed in Khyber Agency, where Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan had gone missing last week.
Alleging that the government will resort to "massive rigging" to benefit the ruling PML-Q, opposition parties like the Pakistan People's Party and PML-N have warned that they will launch street protests if they are denied victory in the polls.
Musharraf, who could face possible impeachment if the opposition secures a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and unites against him, has pledged the elections will be free and fair.
He has also made it clear that he will not tolerate protests after the elections to the national and four provincial assemblies and said he will play a "father figure" to the next premier.
As part of the strict security arrangements, the government has deployed 81,000 troops and nearly 400,000 police personnel to provide security to the more than 64,000 polling stations, a third of which have been declared sensitive.
Recent opinion polls have shown that a majority of Pakistanis fear the polling will not be free and fair. The surveys have also predicted that the PPP and PML-N are likely to emerge the two largest groups with the PML-Q in a distant third place.
PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari warned yesterday in an interview that his party would have no option to take to the streets if the polls are rigged while PML-N chief and two-time former premier Nawaz Sharif said fraudulent polls could plunge Pakistan into chaos.
Past polls in Pakistan have traditionally been marked by low turnouts of about 40 per cent and a similar phenomenon is expected in today's balloting. Experts also believe this could benefit the PML-Q.
Zardari and Sharif are expected to meet tomorrow to decide their future course of action once it becomes clear whether the polls were rigged, sources in their parties said.
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