Pakistan elections: Voting begins across country amid security threats, mobile phone services suspended

• More than 128 million voters are registered
• Key issues include the economic crisis, security issues and the power of the military
• The projected frontrunner is former Premier Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League
  • Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is barred from running
  • At least 26 people were killed in a bomb blast in Baluchistan on the eve of the election
  • Mobile phone services across Pakistan have been suspended for a day as the country goes to the polls, the interior ministry said, citing the need to “maintain law and order.”

In a statement, a ministry spokesman said: “It has been decided to temporarily suspend the mobile service across the country.”