Reaction is coming to us thick and fast - let's bring you some comments from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

The Information Secretary of Imran Khan's party has announced that PTI has emerged as a "single largest political force" in the centre of the country, as well as the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab districts.

Raoof Hasan says people "have roared their approval for PTI Chairman-for-life Imran Khan" to be Pakistan’s next prime minister.

Addressing a press conference regarding the results of general elections, Hasan says "power-wielders must learn to respect people's choice" while warning any effort to "derail the decision" will have "deadly consequences".

He vows all votes have been legal and reflects on it being a "herculean task" to buy consciousness of PTI ideological candidates.

There are still 44 National Assembly seats to be called.

An hour ago, the website of the Electoral Commission in Pakistan, external went down but now seems to be up and running.

Earlier the election commission's spokeswoman Nighat Siddiq told the BBC there was no space for error.

Sharif's PML-N party have 59 seats so far, the independent candidates hold 86.

BBC Urdu says 71 of those independent candidates are linked to ex-PM Imran Khan and his PTI party.

Sharif says it would have been good if his party had got a majority, as he acknowledges he does not have the numbers to form a government alone.

He says he'll reach out to try to form a coalition.

Sharif goes on to say that he respects the mandate of the independent candidates, many of whom are loyal to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) the party of disqualified and jailed ex-PM Imran Khan.

He says he invites them to "sit with us".

"All parties should get together to form a government," he adds.

Let's bring you a few more lines from Nawaz Sharif, who has been speaking to his supporters.

Having said his Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) party has won the most votes, he says: "We have removed the country from difficult times before and we can do it again."

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has claimed his party is the most seats, but not enough to form a government.

This comes as official results show that independent candidates backed by Imran Khan have taken a clear lead, with more than half of votes counted.

Maya Tudor, associate professor at the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government, has been discussing the Pakistan election, saying the lead taken by Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is "shocking" in the context of the country's past.

"A win would be remarkable - in every single other election in Pakistan’s recent history, the military’s preferred candidate has won," she explains, adding the "odds were stacked against Khan".

"The military have used every tool in the toolbox to weaken the power of the PTI party, from banning their cricket bat symbol to an internet blackout on voting day.

"But, even if PTI-backed candidates can win, the road ahead is rocky. A shaky economy, conflict on almost every border, and soaring inflation, which is being felt everyday by ordinary Pakistanis."

If you are just joining our live coverage of Pakistan’s general election and the results, here's are the main updates:

• Results of yesterday's vote began trickling in after a delay of nearly 10 hours, which the Election Committee of Pakistan (ECP) blamed on the suspension of phone and internet services by the government
• Unofficial and incomplete results were reported by local TV channels, prompting Imran Khan's PTI party to claim they were leading on more than 100 seats.
• Independents backed by PTI have won at least 49 seats so far, official results from the ECP show.
• Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's former prime minister, won his seat in a Lahore constituency, but lost his battle for another National Assembly seat in the constituency of Mansehra. Candidates are allowed to contest both National Assembly seats and provincial assembly seats at the same time but can only choose one seat if they win both
• Maryam Nawaz, Sharif's daughter, also won a seat in Lahore, in the National Assembly.
• Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007, and former President Asif Ali Zardari, won the National Assembly seat of Qamber Shahdadtkot-I.

Stay with us as we continue bringing you the results as they become available.

Image source, Shutterstock

Let's bring you some analysis from our BBC Monitoring colleagues, who have been looking at a national Dunya News show which aired last night and featured prominent analysts and TV anchors in discussion.

Journalist Kamran Shahid criticised the Electoral Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for failing to provide the results efficiently. He believes if the elections become controversial, the responsibility would lie with the ECP.

On the other hand, columnist Hafeezullah Niazi said he did not find anything surprising in the results and commented every election has some unique aspects.

We also heard from analyst Dr Rasul Bakhsh Rais who said a "surprising factor" in the election is the party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) where workers and supporters "quietly came out to poll their votes". He noted the results so far indicate PTI could emerge as the largest party in terms of popular vote.

But, Rais said the Supreme Court should be opened and question the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on why the system did not work.

On the Dunya programme Rais argued "whoever is responsible for the present situation is making a farce of the country before the entire world", and at the moment he claimed the responsibility lies with the ECP.

Image source, Omer Bacha

Just to follow on from the fatal clashes in the Shangla district, we have been sent some video footage by a local journalist.

Omer Bacha's video's shows large crowds of people - mainly men - shouting as a fire burns by the corner of a building.

People in the crowd can be seen throwing things, while what appears to be the sound of gunshots can also be heard against the backdrop of yelling in the crowd.

Farhat Javed
BBC News, Islamabad

We have reports of clashes between police and PTI supporters in the Shangla district of the north-west Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

I’ve spoken with a Rescue 1122 officer in Shangla who has confirmed three people were killed and six injured.

Saher Baloch
BBC Urdu

I just spoke with Rafiullah Kakar, a political analyst based in Islamabad, who explains the independents will have three days to join the party they want.

At present, independent candidates are leading with the number of seats secured in the National Assembly. And out of these, the majority are PTI backed candidates.

But as per the electoral commission (ECP) rules, independents are expected to join the party whose symbol was assigned to them during their registration.

Since the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is not functional and its leader is in jail, PTI loyalists will potentially have to join another political party.

Both the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party (PML-N) have shown interest in luring independents towards their parties.

Rafiullah says there are “two possible scenarios" for the independents, one which involves forming "an alliance with PPP and another small party", and another which may see "these independent candidates be allowed to join the PTI”.

Rafiullah adds: “It’s a fragmented mandate where none of the parties have a simple majority. And yet they will have to find a common ground or form a coalition to exist.”

Some comments to bring you from a Pakistani lawyer, who is currently representing several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) politicians, including former chairman Imran Khan.

He has claimed his "bulletproof" car has been shot at.

Posting on social media in the last few moments, Sher Afzal Marwat said he was not in the vehicle, but claims "threat alerts have been issued by the security agencies suggesting two suicide bombers".

"I am under serious threat," he wrote claiming police and Frontier Corps have "been deployed around my residence".

"Thousands of people have taken up arms in my support and armed people have gathered in front of DRO (district returning office).

"I am satisfied that DRO is fair in his duties and I will be handed over result. I request all my supporters to immediately disperse as there is a very serious threat to the lives of all of us."

Usman Zahid
BBC News, in Lahore

Subhan, a shopkeeper in Lahore, is one of many people who have doubts over the election and its outcome.

He tells the BBC: "This is not an election, it’s just selection. First they showed that one party is losing then internet was disrupted and in the morning it was opposite.

"I don't think this election will change anything I have no hope from them."

A fellow voter, Somia, says: "No-one thinks about poor people like us, I don't think anything will change for us. Our area needs basic facilities like a sewage system but they aren't doing anything.

"Everyone says new government will do some good for us like the infrastructure but I hope they will provide us basics so our lives can be improved. They should focus on controlling inflation."

Independents backed by Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have won at least 49 seats, official results from the Electoral Commission show, according to news agency AFP.

PTI's results are against 42 for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and 34 for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), according to the Electoral Commission.

Umer Nangiana
BBC Urdu

Image source, Shutterstock

As the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) begins issuing results after a lengthy delay, Pakistan Muslim League N, Pakistan Peoples Party and the independent candidates backed by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are neck and neck in the race to win a majority in the national assembly.

The initial delay in the announcement of results - alongside the early unofficial results of ballots which were reported by local TV channels - prompted Khan’s PTI to claim they were leading on more than 100 seats.

The ECP, however, distanced itself from what it called "the unofficial, incomplete results" being broadcast by local media and blamed the delay in announcement of results on the suspension of phone and internet services by the government.

The entire episode has led to controversy around the election results being announced now by the commission as several candidates accuse it of changing the results.

According to election laws, the ECP was bound to announce the initial results by 02:00 on 9 February. If there was a delay, the results were meant to have been announced by 10:00, with the district election officers providing the commission with an explanation on what caused the delay to transmit results from their respective polling stations to the commission’s central office in Islamabad.

It has been more than six hours since the 10:00 deadline passed and we are not sure how long will it take for the commission to announce the final results on all seats.

Samira Hussain
Reporting from Islamabad

In a market in Islamabad, I spoke with a few families enjoying the warm afternoon sun, eating chaat and pani puris.

Anum Bashir, a 32-year-old lawyer who cast her ballot on Thursday, is left wondering why it is taking so long for the results to come out, raising deep scepticism regarding rhetorical legitimacy of these elections.

“This is all planned. The results should have been out already. What kind of elections is this that 24 hours later, the results are still not out? These elections are not free, this is not an election, this is a selection.”

Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, Raza Amiri Moghadam, has congratulated the government on "safe and secure" elections, reports Islamabad-based website, The News.

"I extend my warmest congratulations to honourable nation and government of Pakistan on holding successful, safe and secure nationwide elections," he said.

He went on to describe the country as "neighbourly, friendly and brotherly".

The comments come jut weeks after the two countries traded missile strikes.

Iran - which fired first - said January's missile and drone attack inside Pakistan targeted militant group Jaish al-Adli - what it calls an "Iranian terrorist group". Pakistan says it killed two children.

Pakistan responded to the strike by launching attacks of its own against what it said were hideouts of Pakistani "terrorists" based in Iran - the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front.

Relations have since improved between the neighbours, which share a 900km (560 mile) border which is difficult for either to control without cooperation.

• Read more about last month's strikes between Iran and Pakistan here