Many Pakistanis appear to defy crackdown on popular leader as they vote in elections

By Diaa Hadid

Published February 8, 2024 at 6:58 PM EST

Mobile networks were shut off and militants attacked some candidates. One popular leader — who was not on the ballot — essentially campaigned for his proxies via an AI-generated version of himself.

Diaa Hadid

Diaa Hadid chiefly covers Pakistan and Afghanistan for NPR News. She is based in NPR's bureau in Islamabad. There, Hadid and her team were awarded a Murrow in 2019 for hard news for their story on why abortion rates in Pakistan are among the highest in the world.

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