Islamabad: Voting for Pakistan's general election began across the country amid tight security at 0800 hrs on Wednesday morning. The first vote was cast in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Charsadda, Pakistan daily Dawn reported.
As a precautionary security measure, about 4,00,000 police officers and 371,388 Army personnel have been deployed at the 85,000 polling stations.
The battle is set to come down to three parties: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).
Though polling started at 0800 hrs, enthusiastic citizens ween seen queuing up outside their respective stations as early as 0700 hrs. Voting will continue till 1800 hrs.
A record number of troops have been deployed at polling stations at the ECP's request to maintain law and order and take action against harassment.
The high-voltage campaign was marred by violence, including an IS-claimed attack on July 13 that killed nearly 150 people, and dominated by political controversies over the arrest of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. (UNI)