Pakistan geared up on Friday for its crucial parliamentary elections at the weekend after a relatively short campaign marred by deadly violence, dpa reported. Election authorities made final deliveries under military escort of ballot papers to nearly 70,000 polling stations ahead of Saturday's ballot, local news channels reported. The national vote will mark the first-ever transition from one elected government to another after a full five-year term in the country's history. More than 115 people have died since April in shootings and bombings. The U.S. administration welcomed holding Pakistan's "historic" elections, hoping that Pakistan would witness a fair, transparent and peaceful elections. A State Department statement said U.S. Barack Obama's administration neither supports nor favors a candidate against another, confirming that it would cooperate with whoever elected by the Pakistani people.
