Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party was slightly ahead in early election results on Friday, after vote counts were hit by unusual delays that the government ascribed to a suspension of mobile phone services.
The situation is such that Nawaz Sharif, who contested two seats - Lahore and Mansehra - faced defeat from one of them. Sharif won the Lahore seat but lost to PTI-backed independent candidate Yasmin Rashid from the Mansehra seat.