The polling for by-elections on around two dozen National Assembly and provincial assembly seats concluded amid sporadic incidents of clashes between the workers of political parties in Punjab.

The cellular and internet services remained suspended in specific districts of Punjab and Balochistan to maintain law and order situation during the electoral process.

The voting for the first major by-poll, which took place after the February 8 general elections, started at 8am and continued till 5pm today without any interval.

A day earlier, the federal government announced that cellular services will remain temporarily suspended in specific districts of Punjab and Balochistan during the by-elections on April 21-22.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a statement, saying that the decision has been taken to safeguard the integrity and security of the electoral process.

Meanwhile, at the request of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the federal government has approved the deployment of Pakistan Army and Civil Armed Forces (CAF) troops during the polling process.

The government said that it would use the armed forces units as a quick response force.

The notification mentioned that the CAF and Pakistan Army units would be used as second and third tiers of security and they would be available with immediate effect till April 22 in 21 constituencies.

As the polling was taking place, a clash between Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers took place in PP-54 in Narowal.

During the incident, a PML-N worker, Muhammad Yousuf, was killed after the opponents hit his dead with a stick during the fight, said the police.

The police said that the worker was taken to hospital where he succumbed to injuries, adding that the polling was stopped in this constituency.

PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said that PTI cannot win elections through hooliganism. He added that the killers will be brought to justice.

Meanwhile, an argument broke out between workers of both parties in NA-199 constituency of Lahore.

The police said that the clash took place at polling station number 171 of Lahore College, adding that the workers grabbed and dragged each other.

However, the police took the workers to their camps to resolve the matter.

Meanwhile, another clash broke out between SIC and PML-N workers in PP-139 constituency in Sheikhupura. The workers beat each other, injuring three people.

The police said that the fight took place over election camp, adding that they took two people into custody. The polling had stopped briefly due to firing, however, it resumed after a while.

Another incident took place in Rahim Yar Khan during which workers of two political parties clashed and broke windows of cars. The fight happened in PP-266 constituency.