Live: Elections 2024

Speaking to the media in Rawalpindi, PTI Senator Ali Zafar said: “I want to give important information which Khan sahib said. A letter will be issued from him to the International Monetary Fund.”

He said that the IMF, the European Union and other organisations had a charter which stated that good governance was needed for working in the country or giving a loan.

“The most important condition for good governance is democracy,” he said. He further said that the people’s mandate was stolen “in the darkness of the night” during the Feb 8 polls.

He said that if elections were not free and fair, then any organisation would avoid giving a “loan” to such a country. “Because that loan will further burden the people,” he said.

He said that the party wanted an audit of the election results and this condition would be put in front of the IMF.

PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat has said his party would approach the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the treatment meted out to Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in detention.

He claimed that Imran and Bushra Bibi had not met each other for two weeks, adding that all these tactics were aimed at “mentally torturing” the PTI founder.

PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat has warned that his party would emerge as a strong opposition if their “stolen seats” were not returned.

“The PML-N and PPP have announced that they have distributed positions but we want to tell the nation that they if sit in the government with our mandate and if we are forcefully made to sit in the opposition, then they won’t be able to run the country in peace,” he said.

Addressing PML-N’s candidate for premier Shehbaz Sharif, Marwat said the former would find himself in a “queue of lions”.

“And if you impose a certified thief like Zardari on the respectful position of the president, then it will be an insult to Pakistan,” he said, adding that Imran had instructed the nation to stand firm in the fight for justice.

PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat has said the party will approach the Supreme Court, under the jurisdiction of Article 184(3), against the “biggest theft of mandate in Pakistan’s history”.

In a media talk outside Adiala Jail, he said the decision was taken in a meeting with incarcerated party chief Imran Khan. “We request the nation to watch these proceedings meticulously and see what treatment is given to us there.”

He claimed that there was a “lack of justice in courts” these days. “Those who approach courts for justice are either picked up or chased out and then they are made an example for others,” Marwat added.

He further stated that the PTI would file petitions in “large numbers”.

Jamaat-i-Islami leader Sirajul Haq has cast his doubts on the functionality of the coalition government.

“PDM 2.0 company will not last long,” he said in a brief post on X.

The Sindh High Court has directed the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority to fully restore social media platform X (formerly Twitter) across the country.

The order was passed by SHC Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmad Abbasi on a petition filed by senior journalists Zarrar Khuhro, Amber Rahim Shamsi and others through Advocate Abdul Moiz Jaferii.

It must be noted that the services of X have been disrupted in Pakistan for nearly six days now. The platform has been inaccessible since Saturday when former Rawal­pindi commissioner Liaquat Chattha held a press conference and accused the chief election commissioner and chief justice of being involved in rigging the Feb 8 general elections.

“The services of X should remain restored without any disruption or interruption,” Justice Abbasi remarked during the hearing today.

The SHC also directed the PTA and other respondents in the case to submit a detailed response at the next hearing.

Aleema Khan, the sister of former premier Imran Khan, has said the PTI would have talked to other political parties if its “stolen seats” were returned back to it.

Speaking to the media outside the Adiala district jail, she said she was denied a meeting with her brother, who is currently incarcerated there. Aleema criticised the judicial system, claiming that hearings were not being held properly.

On the matter of not holding a dialogue with the PPP, she said, “Could Imran make a government with the PPP? Can you imagine that those that the public wants to get rid of… The matter is that when the PPP offered to meet, we asked them to return our stolen seats.

“Tell them that if they return all our seats, we will sit with everyone,” Aleema said, alleging that the PML-N, PPP and MQM-P had won multiple NA seats wrongfully.

PTI leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has called the imprisonment of party founder Imran Khan unjust, while simultaneously praising his courage and perseverance as a “rare example in Pakistan’s history”.

In a post on X, he said that the people of Pakistan came out of their houses despite all difficulties and heeded Imran’s call.

Gohar further stated that the people of Pakistan do not accept the open theft of the mandate in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Centre.

“Instead of subjecting the country to the politics of hatred and division, the time has come to free Imran Khan from his unjust imprisonment and give him the right to lead the people of his nation,” he said.

“States gain respect in the world’s eyes not by putting politicians on a pedestal of hate, but by respecting them,” he said.

PTI lawyer Nadeem Haider Panjutha has criticised the lack of action on the party’s concerns regarding the deteriorating health of Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi.

At a media talk, he said the former first lady had been denied medical attention despite being critically ill. Pansota said he held a meeting with Bushra Bibi at Bani Gala, where she is incarcerated, and the latter told him that she had been given “toxic food”.

The Election Commission of Pakistan is continuing to hear the petitions regarding the results of the February 8 general elections, Radio Pakistan reports.

The ECP will hear 69 petitions today, the report added.

The electoral watchdog has also established a designated cell for the registration of complaints at its building in Islamabad.

Former human rights minister Shireen Mazari has termed it “farcical” that the interim IT minister was posting on social media site X about his “services” for the country while the platform remained inaccessible for “over five days”.

In a post on X, Mazari, while referring to interim IT minister Umar Saif, said, “The man is shameless.”

She said he “should have had the decency to keep quiet instead of using [a Virtual Private Network] to talk of ‘serving’ the people”.

A session of the Punjab Assembly will be held at 10am on Friday (tomorrow).

A statement issued by the Governor House said, “Governor Balighur Rehman has summoned a session of the Punjab Assembly at 10am tomorrow, February 23, at the provincial assembly’s chambers.”

A statement by Rehman’s spokesperson said the governor had signed upon the summary of summoning the Punjab Assembly.

PML-N leader Hina Parvez Butt also confirmed that the assembly will convene tomorrow, stating that it would be the third time she would take oath as a member of the provincial assembly.

PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan has said he is not being allowed to meet party founder Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail.

Speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail, Ayub said that despite having a court order, the jail superintendent was refusing to let him meet Imran even after an hour and a half of waiting outside the jail premises.

“Our rights are not being provided; where do we go to get justice?” the party’s candidate for prime minister asked.

“Should I go to the Lahore High Court, or the Islamabad High Court, or the Supreme Court in order to be heard?” he questioned. “Or should I go to an international court in order to meet our leader?”

The PTI has announced that it would hold its intra-party elections on March 3. According to the poll schedule, members would be able to submit nomination papers by Feb 23 and 24.

The scrutiny of the paper will be completed by Feb 25 and decisions on the nominations will be taken by Feb 27.

The polling for the internal elections would be held at the party’s central secretariat in Islamabad and PTI offices in all four provinces.

It must be noted that the Election Commission of Pakistan last year declared the PTI’s intraparty polls unconstitutional and revoked its iconic symbol ‘bat’. The verdict was challenged in PHC, which had overturned the order. However, the ECP’s decision prevailed when the matter was taken to the apex court.

In the aftermath of the electoral watchdog’s decision, party leaders contested the Feb 8 elections as independent candidates.

PTI-backed independent candidate Rehana Dar has claimed she won from Sialkot’s NA-71 according to the 350 Forms-45 she said she has.

In a video shared by the PTI on X, Rehana alleged that when she went to the returning officer’s office, she was mistreated and the people with her were manhandled.

“I have never seen what I am seeing today,” she said.

Lawyer Usman Gill has said that the Adiala jail authorities have stated capacity issues and security concerns as the main reasons for not detaining ex-premier Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi there and instead declaring her Bani Gala residence in Islamabad as sub-jail.

Speaking outside the Islamabad High Court, where Bushra Bibi had challenged the notification of the Bani Gala residence being declared a sub-jail, Gill said the Adiala jail superintendent submitted a report in the court as ordered.

He said the report cited “capacity issues” and it was “reflected in the report that there are security concerns”. The lawyer said the Adiala jail was a “properly guarded premises” yet security concerns had been stated as a reason.

The lawyer said the state counsel was now given further time to elaborate on the report submitted by the Adiala jail superintendent.

Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry has expressed despair at the country’s political situation and disapproval of the incoming coalition government.

Responding to a reporter’s query outside an anti-corruption court in Rawalpindi, Fawad said, “The country’s situation will get worse. They are getting worse.”

He added: “A national government should be formed. Unless they include Imran Khan [and] the PTI [in the government], then how… the people of Pakistan are standing on one side and the government will stand on the other.”

He also termed the incoming coalition government of the PML-N and the PPP “PDM part two”, referring to the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) tenure.

In a video shared on X, the ex-PTI leader could be seen handcuffed as he held his daughter in his arms and his wife walked alongside him.

PTI leader Khurrum Sher Zaman has said that his party founder and ex-premier Imran Khan is “vindicated” as the PML-N and the PPP have reached an agreement for a coalition government.

In a post on X, he said, “Imran Khan vindicated as PML-N and PPP came together to form the government again and distribute the spoils of power amongst themselves.”

“Zardari-Sharif bhai bhai [brothers]!” he added.

A delegation of the PML-N’s newly elected MPAs from Balochistan has met party leader and former finance minister Senator Ishaq Dar at the Parliament House.

In a press release shared on X, Dar said that the delegation of MPA-elects was headed by the party’s provincial president Jafar Khan Mandokhail.

The province’s overall political situation in Balochistan was discussed during the meeting, especially the matter of forming a government there, the statement added.

Former Balochistan chief minister Jam Kamal Khan, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, ex-law minister Azam Nazir Tarar and Malik Ahmed Khan attended the meeting.

PTI leader Mian Aslam Iqbal has claimed that although he had secured bail in 18 cases yesterday, the Punjab police attempted to “abduct” him.

In a post on X, Iqbal — who is also the PTI’s nominee for the Punjab chief minister role — said, “The Constitution and law are being shredded into pieces by the Punjab police and the bureaucracy.

“Despite being granted bail by the Peshawar High Court, the Punjab Police attempted to abduct me in Peshawar,” he added. The PTI leader said he was “safe”.

PTI leader Asad Qaiser has questioned the “credibility” of the incoming coalition government led by the PML-N and the PPP.

Speaking to the media in Rawalpindi, Qaiser claimed that the PML-N was “forming governments in Punjab or centre by offering bribes or pressuring our people” despite having a “fake mandate”.

“What credibility will this government have? What say will it have? Who will respect this government? If you would not respect the public opinion, how will this country move forward?” he asked.

Qaiser said he would try to talk to a superintendent, presumably that of the Adiala district jail, to meet incarcerated party founder Imran Khan to discuss the “various ongoing alliances” of the PTI with other political parties.

Services of social media site X (formerly Twitter) remain disrupted for the sixth day. Dawn.com staffers were unable to access the platform without using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

The disruption was first reported on Saturday due to the “escalating unrest and protests” over allegations of election fraud, according to Internet tracking organisation NetBlocks.

Pattan-Coalition 38, an independent election observation group, has warned the Election Commission that any tampered poll-related forms were likely to deepen the nation’s rage.

“We note with extreme concern that any delay in this regard is likely to cause more harm not only to the repute of the ECP as it is already under tremendous scrutiny, criticism and pressure, but will also seriously damage public trust in electoral democracy and state institutions,” it said in a statement.

It said the conduct of the general election has already tarnished the ECP’s image in the eyes of the public and the international community. It said the ECP had undermined its own stated vision and its mission statement, which says: “We strive to hold free, fair and transparent elections that truly reflect the will of the people in democratic processes.”

Pattan said the ECP could still prevent further harm by uploading the original Forms 45. “We would therefore like to remind the ECP that transparency in elections is as important as freeness and fairness,” it said.

Read more here.

The election commission’s inquiry committee formed to investigate the allegations levelled by former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha has completed its work within the stipulated period of three days and will submit its report to the ECP today (Thursday).

“The committee has recorded statements of the DROs and ROs of Rawalpindi division,” an official told Dawn.

He said the DROs and ROs denied allegations of rigging and the manipulation of results, as alleged by the former commissioner.

Read more here.

PTI leader Musarrat Cheema has said that it has been 200 days since ex-premier Imran Khan was jailed.

In a post on X, Cheema said that their party founder was “still sticking to his ideology despite enduring hardships of the prison”.

Under what seems to be a confidence and supply arrangement, the PPP will vote with the PML-N only on motions of confidence and spending bills. For all else, the PML-N may be on its own.

Meanwhile, in its new incarnation as the Sunni Ittehad Council — and likely to emerge as the single largest party in the Lower House barring any further engineering — the PTI will sit on the opposition benches and is poised to take the opposition leader’s slot.

With legislative power thus distributed, this government will likely prove to be the most formidable political test faced yet by Shehbaz, who ruled without any real opposition the last time around. And it won’t just be parliament that will be testing his mettle.

Does Shehbaz expect to deliver in such circumstances? His biggest task will be to clean out the Augean stables left behind by his own administration, especially where the economy is concerned.

Read the full editorial here.

PTI leader Zartaj Gul, who won the NA-185 seat (Dera Ghazi Khan II) as a party-backed independent candidate, has vowed she would not “sell her conscience at any cost”, referring to joining other political parties.

Almost all PTI-backed winning independent candidates of national and provincial assemblies submitted affidavits to the Election Commission on Wednesday, officially joining the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

As many as 89 MNAs, 85 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 106 members of the Punjab Assembly and nine members of the Sindh Assembly have submitted their affidavits.

The submission of affidavits proves the PTI’s claim that it had managed to win 93 NA seats, as three party leaders did not submit affidavits, including Omar Ayub Khan, Barrister Gohar Khan and Ali Amin Gandapur, while the notification of one candidate, Dawar Kundi, was yet to be issued by the ECP.

Ayub and Gohar deliberately did not file affidavits to become SIC members because they plan to contest PTI’s intra-party elections. Gandapur also did not file the affidavit, as he has been nominated as the PTI’s candidate for the slot of KP chief minister.

Read more here.

Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman has said he will summon the Punjab Assembly session upon receiving its requisition.

He expressed the hope that the session of the Punjab Assembly would be held within the next few days.

Read more here.