Pak counts ballots in polls marred by internet outage

Counting was underway on Thursday after millions of Pakistanis voted in an election marred by rigging allegations and a shutdown of mobile phone services, while the country's most popular politician Imran Khan languished in jail, and authorities saying that at least nine people had been killed nationwide.

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Pollsters predicted a low turnout from the country's 128 million eligible voters following a lacklustre campaign overshadowed by the jailing of former prime minister Khan, and the hobbling of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party by the military-led establishment.

The Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) is expected to win the most seats in Thursday's vote, with analysts saying its 74-year-old founder Nawaz Sharif has the blessing of the generals.

Adding to concerns about the integrity of the vote, authorities suspended mobile phone services just as polls opened and only began to restore them more than three hours after polls shut at 5pm local time.

Nighat Dad, a lawyer who runs the not-for-profit Digital Rights Foundation, called the blackout "an attack on the democratic rights of Pakistanis".

More than 650,000 army, paramilitary and police personnel were deployed to provide security on Thursday.

Despite the heightened security, nine people, including two children, were killed in bomb blasts, grenade attacks and shootings.