Independent candidate killed in Karachi ahead of polls

A candidate standing in Pakistan's general election has been shot dead along with two supporters in the financial capital Karachi on the eve the national election.

Shakil Ahmed, a businessman and an independent candidate, was campaigning for Saturday's poll in the Landhi area of Karachi on Friday when the attack took place.

Ahmed along with two other supporters were killed on the spot.

Polls will open at 8am local time and close at 5pm, in which more than 86 million people are registered to vote, of which more than 35 million will be exercising their franchise for the first time.

The voters will elect 272 legislators to the 342-member National Assembly and legislators to four provincial assemblies.
Saturday's vote is seen as a democratic milestone in a country ruled for half its history by the military.
Tens of thousands of polls workers and security personnel have been deployed across the country to ensure the voting on Saturday is fair and safe, Al Jazeera's Asad Hashim, reporting from Pakistan, said.

Overseeing security during polling will be more than 600 thousand people, including about 50,000 soldiers.