Pakistan on Saturday expressed surprise over the “negative tone” of some of the statements by some members of the international community about the February 8 elections and said curbs on mobile services were needed to avoid terrorist attacks during the elections.

The polarised polls, largely peaceful, were held on Thursday, but the delay in the announcement of results became a major irritant for observers monitoring the elections. Pakistan’s foreign office (FO) said in a statement that the country took notice of the remarks from certain countries and organisations on the elections.

“We are surprised by the negative tone of some of these statements, which neither take into account the complexity of the electoral process nor acknowledge the free and enthusiastic exercise of the right to vote by tens of millions of Pakistanis,” the FO said.

“These statements ignore the undeniable fact that Pakistan has held general elections, peacefully and successfully, while dealing with serious security threats resulting primarily from foreign-sponsored terrorism,” the statement said.

The statement said some remarks were not even factually correct as there was no nationwide internet shutdown and only mobile services were suspended to avoid terrorist incidents on the polling day.

“The elections exercise has demonstrated that the concerns of many commentators were misplaced,” it said.

The FO maintained that Pakistan held the elections as part of its commitment to building a stable and democratic society and while it values constructive advice from friends, making negative commentary even before the completion of the electoral process is neither constructive nor objective.

Pakistan will continue to work towards building a vibrant democratic polity and every election and peaceful transition of power brings it closer to that goal, it said.

The US state department said Thursday’s vote was held under restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly. The EU has also said it regrets the lack of a level playing field due to the inability of some actors to contest the elections.