The interior ministry said the move was because of recent terror attacks in the country. The internet was still working through wired broadband connections, local reporters posted on X earlier today. But NetBlocks, a service that tracks outages, said later that Pakistan had begun to block internet services too.

The voting has begun in the country and will end at 5 pm. The interior ministry didn't say when it will turn on the mobile services again.

It's not the first time a country has switched off the mobile networks and internet on important days - governments in other countries, including neighbour India, Uganda and Ethiopia, have done the same before - but a nationwide block is scarce.

Free speech supporters have slammed governments before for what they think is overuse of mobile network shutdowns, saying access to information and communication should be kept even more during political votes.