ISLAMABAD  -  Pakistan has expressed strong ex­ception to the negative tone adopt­ed by certain countries and organi­zations regarding the recently held general elections in the country.

In a statement on Saturday, For­eign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said we are surprised by the negative tone of some of these statements, which neither take into account the complexity of the elec­toral process, nor acknowledge the free and enthusiastic exercise of the right to vote by tens of millions of Pakistanis.

She said these statements ignore the undeniable fact that Pakistan has held general elections, peace­fully and successfully, while dealing with serious security threats result­ing primarily from foreign spon­sored terrorism.

Some statements are not even fac­tual. She clarified there was no na­tionwide internet shutdown. Only mobile services were suspended for the day to avoid terrorist incidents on the polling day. The elections ex­ercise has demonstrated that the concerns of many commentators were misplaced.

The spokesperson said Pakistan held the elections as part of its com­mitment to building a stable and democratic society. While we val­ue constructive advice from our friends, making negative commen­tary even before the completion of electoral process is neither con­structive nor objective.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pa­kistan will continue to work to­wards building a vibrant demo­cratic polity. Every election and peaceful transition of power brings us closer to that goal. She said we do this not on account of the concerns expressed by others but because that is the aspiration of our people and the vision of our founding fathers.