Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Mobile signals are restored in Karachi, not in Lahore

    Mobile signals are restored in Karachi, not in Lahore

    Senior Journalist Gharidah Farooqi wrote in her post on X (previously Twitter) that mobile signals are restored in Karachi but are still suspended in Lahore.

    It’s election night in Pakistan, but mobile signals have been suspended in Lahore for almost 20 hours. According to the election results so far, independent candidates backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are leading.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Where is Nawaz Sharif right now?

    EXCLUSIVE: Where is Nawaz Sharif right now?

    A source close to the Sharif family has told us that as the election results go neck to neck PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif has left the PMLN Model Town headquarters and cancelled his ‘victory speech’.

  • Social media goes wild as independents go neck-to-neck in early results

    Social media goes wild as independents go neck-to-neck in early results

    Today is a big day in Pakistan as the country goes to vote. In 2018, PTI won and formed the government. This time, the party is fielding its candidates as independents.

    The internet is buzzing as unofficial election results show independents in a tight race, and even leading in many constituencies. The competition is so close that nobody knows who will win yet. Everyone is eagerly waiting for the final results.
    Here are some reactions on social media:

  • When will we know who is the next Prime Minister of Pakistan?

    When will we know who is the next Prime Minister of Pakistan?

    Polling is over for perhaps the most contentious elections in Pakistan’s history, and now the nation is waiting for the results for Pakistan’s general elections.

    But when will we know who their next Prime Minister will be?

    Not anytime soon, unfortunately.

    Here’s how it works. The results as yet are unofficial. Official results are being compiled by ECP and will take a while to tabulate.
    Once the votes are counted, the parliament will take oath. Then the house will hold election for Prime Minister and the candidate who has the majority of legislators behind him, he wins.

    We know that PML-N candidate for Prime Minister is Nawaz Sharif while for PPP its Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

    Could a dark horse become our Premier? We’ll know in a few short days.

  • “Taliban have taken over my constituency,” says Mohsin Dawar

    “Taliban have taken over my constituency,” says Mohsin Dawar

    Former Member National Assembly and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement leader Mohsin Dawar has shared via a tweet on X that “Taliban have taken over polling stations in Tappi, N. Waziristan in my constituency NA-40”.


    He went on to share that “three of our female polling agents escaped a blast in the morning. I had conveyed my concerns about the security situation in Tappi to the DRO which were ignored. ECP has to take notice.”


    NA-40 same constituency where women are being barred from voting. Journalist Iftikhar Firdous also posted that an unidentified man has been recorded, taking away an entire ballot box. Voting as resumed but women are not being allowed to vote.

  • Nawaz Sharif votes for Imran Khan’s former bestie

    Nawaz Sharif votes for Imran Khan’s former bestie

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif cast his vote in NA-128 Lahore.

    Nawaz Sharif voted for Imran Khan’s former bestie and Istehkam-e-Pakistan’s (IPP) leader, Aun Chaudhry.

    Aun was a member of PTI for a long time and a close associate of Khan. PMLN has supported his candidacy as Nawaz and his family have voted for Aun.

  • ‘If you don’t have internet, print your Google map’ Caretaker Information Minister’s tips on how to go vote

    ‘If you don’t have internet, print your Google map’ Caretaker Information Minister’s tips on how to go vote

    In a controversial move, the Interior Ministry of Pakistan has shut down mobile internet and phones across the country. The move was made minutes before polling stations opened Thursday morning at 8 am.

    To find out what voters could do to find out what their polling information is, since they can no longer send a text message to 8300, The Current contacted Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi.

    “A serious voter will know all the details already,” he told us on the phone, using WiFi for the call. “Serious voters find out a day before what their polling information is like I did. I messaged 8300 the night before and wrote all my information.”

    When we asked if a voter wasn’t able to before, or wasn’t a ‘serious voter’ but was still a ‘voter’ what can they do? “Well, a voter should know his constituency number. They can go to any polling station in their area and might be able to find it,” he said.

    When asked that some people can’t find their polling stations easily, and now that the internet is down, what can they do? He recommended that “for those who want to get to their polling station via Google maps, they should print the map at home and then take it and follow it. I used to do this when I was in America, and it’s very easy to do.”

    Solangi also said that people used to vote before mobiles existed and can now as well.

    But if a voter has issues finding their information, PTI is offering an alternative. You can send your ID card number to Imran Khan’s Facebook page and they will reply, with your block number, polling station. Even if you are not a PTI voter, you will still be able to get your relevant information.

  • Nawaz Sharif casts his vote in NA-128 Lahore

    Nawaz Sharif casts his vote in NA-128 Lahore

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) head Nawaz Sharif has cast his vote in NA-128 Lahore along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz. Nawaz Sharif cast his vote for the first time in nearly six years.

  • Restore mobile service now: Bilawal Bhutto

    Restore mobile service now: Bilawal Bhutto

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari wants the mobile service across the country to be restored. The former foreign minister wrote a post on X (previously Twitter) saying, “Mobile phone services must be restored immediately across the country. I have asked my party to approach both ECP and the courts for this purpose.”

    Other politicians are also agreeing with BBZ, including Independent candidate and former PPP minister, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar.

  • Pakistanis say vote matters despite alleged election rigging

    Pakistanis say vote matters despite alleged election rigging

    Islamabad, Pakistan

    Pakistanis turning out early for Thursday’s election said they believe their votes count, despite allegations of rigging in the nation’s most fractious poll in recent history.

    “I believe in democracy and I think my vote matters,” said 22-year-old psychology student Haleema Shafiq, among the first to vote in the capital Islamabad.

    “I cast my vote as it’s my duty,” she told AFP inside a polling station. “I wish for a deserving party to come to power.”

    Polls opened at 8:00 am (0300 GMT) for 128 million eligible voters, with the first participants trickling into the Noorpur Shahan girl’s school and inking their fingers to stamp papers in gender-segregated booths.

    Early voters were outnumbered by around a dozen armed security personnel staffing the station, a day after twin blasts claimed by the Islamic State killed 28 outside candidate offices in the nation’s southwest.

    “I want a government that can make Pakistan safe for girls,” said Shafiq.

    Analysts predict a low turnout after a muted campaign overshadowed by the jailing of ex-prime minister Imran Khan and the hobbling of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party by the military establishment.

    “Is this the way an election should be conducted?” asked 40-year-old Imran Khan, a driver who shares his name with the jailed opposition leader.

    “Everyone has the right to vote according to their own will,” he said. “Today is not the day to stay at home. Those who choose to sit at home today will do injustice to themselves.”

    Monitors say the treatment of PTI amounts to “pre-poll rigging”, and the party has voiced fears that voters would face interference at polling stations.

    Ballots were posted into white and green ballot boxes, Pakistan’s national colours, and crowds steadily grew in the first hour after polls opened.

    “I arrived 20 minutes early to cast my vote because I believe my vote matters,” said 39-year-old Syed Tassawar. “My only fear is whether my vote will be counted for the same party I cast it for.”

    “At the same time, for the poor it does not matter who is ruling — we need a government that can control inflation, that’s the only thing that matters to people like us,” added the construction worker.

    Whoever wins Thursday’s election will inherit a divided country with an economy in tatters — with galloping inflation, a rupee in freefall and a balance of payments crisis.

    “We have pretty high expectations from the new government to improve our conditions, said 21-year-old first-time voter Zainab Asghar.

    “Every single vote matters,” she said.

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    © Agence France-Presse