Live: Elections 2024

While referring to the PTI’s political rivalry with the PML-N and the PPP, former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said that “reconciliation” was way better than “recrimination”.

Speaking to GZero Media at the Munich Security Conference, Khar said, “I hope that this will be our time where we come together and realise that from recrimination, reconciliation is far far far far far better”.

She said that by refusing to speak to “X and Y and Z” — referring to other parties in the National Assembly — the PTI was not respecting its own mandate.

Khar emphasised the need for the “very large youth bubble” in the country’s population to be made its strength “instead of being our weakness”.

Former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar has termed ex-premier Imran Khan the “poster boy of populism”.

Speaking to GZero Media at the Munich Security Conference, Khar highlighted that Imran was “able to get everybody to rally around what all is wrong and the great injustices”.

“However, when he comes to power, he doesn’t have any plan to give them a way out, to sort it out. […] Even when they’re in government, they act like [the] opposition,” she said.

PTI leader Asad Qaiser has a message for the PML-N and PPP coalition: “Show some grace and step aside from the government”.

In a media talk outside Adiala Jail, he said PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif had a “minority stake” in the elections and claimed that the public never gave him the mandate for the premiership.

“The PPP is telling the people that they are not a part of the government […] but you are taking the post of Senate chairman on their [PML-N’s] vote,” he lamented.

Qaiser further said that he could not understand what “formula” Senator Ishaq Dar had which was missing during his previous terms as the finance minister.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has highlighted that the PTI remained unwilling to talk to his “party or the PML-N” and did not have a majority mandate in the National Assembly.

Responding to a reporter’s query a day ago, Bilawal said that his party’s and the PML-N’s stance was that the PTI was welcome to form a government in the Centre if it was able to.

“[…] I kept saying that the PPP is willing to talk to any political party [but] they did not come; they were not ready to talk. Then how can you say that they have the mandate?” the PPP chairman asked.

“They (PTI) may have more seats but they still need to reach 172,” the former foreign minister said while referring to the number of NA seats needed to declare a simple majority in the federal government.

“If they would not talk [to anyone] then how will they cross 172? If they cannot cross 172, then they cannot form the government.”

The US State Department has stressed that claims of “interference or fraud” in the February 8 general elections must be fully and transparently investigated as per Pakistan’s laws and procedures.

Spokesperson Matthew Miller passed these remarks while responding to a question about rigging allegations by former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaqat Ali Chattha.

To a question regarding the PTI’s mandate, he said: “I don’t want to get into an internal Pakistani matter, which I very much believe that the formation of a new government is. But – so that’s a matter that I will leave to Pakistan. But as I said, when it comes to – any claims of interference or allegations of irregularities, we want to see those fully investigated.”

On the recent suspension of X (formerly Twitter) in Pakistan, Miller said the US wanted to see full internet freedom around the world “and that includes the availability of platforms that people use to communicate each other”.

“We want internet platforms to be available to people in Pakistan and around the world,” he added.

PTI legal coordinator Mashal Yousafzai has said Bushra Bibi, who is under detention at Bani Gala, was not allowed to meet her family or lawyers.

In a post on X, she said the former first lady was scheduled to meet her legal team today. However, the meeting was postponed “for unknown reasons”.

It must be noted that the PTI has expressed concerns over Bushra Bibi’s health, claiming that she had been given “food laced with toxic substances”.

It is a right royal mess that is hard to clean up. A hung parliament through a controversial election has pushed the country deeper into the mire.

It has been almost two weeks since the general elections were held on Feb 8, but as yet, there is no sign of a new dispensation taking shape. A thick cloud of uncertainty continues to hang over the country’s political landscape.

While the PTI is still not out of the race, the two other major political parties — the PML-N and PPP — are engaged in hard bargaining for the formation of a new coalition arrangement, amid widespread protests against alleged poll rigging. The confession of the Rawalpindi commissioner, who resigned from his post, about his role in vote manipulation has raised more questions about the legitimacy of the entire electoral process.

It is certainly not the outcome of the long-awaited polls one wanted to see. It is the unravelling of the entire political power structure. But re-engineering work is on to prop up the old order already rejected by the electorate. The intermittent shutdown of social media seems to be a part of the effort to stifle opposition voices. One is, however, not sure whether these efforts will bring any political stability to a country in deep turmoil.

Read more here.

The Supreme Court has disposed of a plea seeking the February 8 general elections to be declared void and null after the petitioner did not attend two consecutive hearings.

Filed by an individual named Ali Khan, the petition urged the court to order new elections within 30 days to be held under the direct supervision and oversight of the judiciary “to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability”.

The apex court was informed by the additional attorney general today that Ali was a former brigadier. Reading out the petitioner’s email to the SC, CJP Isa observed that Ali had stated he could not appear before the court as he was in Bahrain.

“He is a strange person; people buy a return ticket due to it being cheaper but he booked a one-way ticket. It seems that Ali Khan had done a publicity stunt by filing a petition before the Supreme Court, “ the CJP remarked.

Subsequently, the three-member bench — also comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali — disposed of the plea and imposed a fine of Rs500,000 on the petitioner.

As the Supreme Court began hearing a plea seeking the February 8 general elections to be declared void and null, petitioner Ali Khan again did not appear today.

The additional attorney general (AAG) informed the apex court that a notice had been sent to Ali’s house through the defence ministry and well police had gone there as well, but he was not present there.

When Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa asked about the identity of the petitioner, the AAG said Ali was a former brigadier who had been tried by a court martial in 2012.

The CJP noted that according to the petitioner’s email, he was abroad and had requested to withdraw his plea. Ali went to Bahrain by taking a connecting flight via Doha, Justice Isa added.

PTI leader Shaukat Basra came to the rostrum but he was not permitted to speak as he was “neither a petitioner nor a counsel”. CJP Isa then told Basra to step aside from the rostrum.

Regarding Ali, the chief justice remarked, “It is strange that the petitioner filed the plea and then went abroad the next day. Our [fixation] branch has confirmed about the email as well that it has been sent by the same person.”

Activist Jibran Nasir has said the PPP, PML-N and MQM-P “submitted to non-democratic forces while parading to be the saviors of democracy” by signing a deal and agreeing to a mandate that was never given to them.

“You are complicit in robbing the people of their fundamental constitutional right to choose their representatives and the people will not stand with you,” the lawyer said in a post on X.

“If you wish to preserve your legacy and politics in the long term then renounce these short-term ill-gotten benefits and give up the seats you know you did not win. Respect the will of the people if you want the people to be the source of your power,” Nasir added.

The Supreme Court has begun hearing a petition seeking the February 8 general elections to be declared void and null due to alleged violations of democratic norms and electoral integrity.

Filed by an individual named Ali Khan, the plea had urged the court to order new elections within 30 days to be held under the direct supervision and oversight of the judiciary “to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability”.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali is hearing the petition.

During the previous hearing, the SC had described the filing of the petition and then trying to withdraw the same as something which amounts to abuse of the process of the court.

Today, petitioner Ali again failed to appear before the court.

The governors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab would be from PPP while the governors of Sindh and Balochistan would be from PML-N, PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi says.

In an interview with Geo News, he outlined further details of the power-sharing formula agreed between the PPP and the PML-N.

“The PPP will give the vote of prime minister, speaker, and confidence vote to the PML-N. We will support them even in legislation,” he clarified, adding that his party would only indulge in criticism for correction.

Further, Kundi said both parties were forming a committee that would hold discussions on “difficult decisions”.

In response to a question regarding the appointment of the finance minister, he said this was the prerogative of Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N’s nominee for the premier.

The PTI has said that the public’s vote for independent candidates backed by the party was a vote against “corrupt individuals”, referring to the probable coalition government comprising the PML-N and the PPP.

“People came out in numbers and voted for Imran Khan. They want him to be the sole ruler of the country. Voting for Imran Khan was a vote against these corrupt individuals,” the PTI’s Lahore chapter said in a post on X.

“However, these mandate thieves are fully prepared to form a government by stealing votes. This way, Pakistan will further descend into darkness,” it added.

The PML-N will hold its first parliamentary meeting for its Punjab chapter at 2pm today in Raiwind, according to a party statement.

PML-N chief organiser and the party’s nominee for Punjab chief minister Maryam Nawaz will address the meeting. She will discuss her agenda of priorities as the provincial chief executive.

Further, the strategy regarding the first session of the Punjab Assembly and the election of speaker and deputy speaker will also be discussed, the party said.

US Congressman Greg Casar has urged the US State Department to demand Pakistani authorities to restore access to social media platform X, which remains blocked in the country for the fourth day.

In a post on X, Casar said, “Pakistanis use Twitter to expose post-election interference. But now, Pakistani authorities are blocking Twitter access for the third straight day.”

“State Dept should demand authorities restore access to Twitter. Our allies should meet basic standards of free speech and democracy,” he added.

With the Punjab Assem­bly session likely to be called in a couple of days, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) — the new home for successful PTI-backed independent candidates — may not get reserved seats for women and minorities, leaving the PML-N with a simple majority in the house.

However, the outgoing speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Sibtain Khan, has warned the government to refrain from calling the provincial assembly session without allocating reserved seats to the SIC.

“The Election Commission of Pakistan is likely to notify allocation of reserved seats in the PA on Wednesday (today),” an official source privy to the development told Dawn on Tuesday.

The source insisted that the Sunni Ittehad Council was unlikely to get its share amid legal questions, recalling that the SIC’s head himself had not contested on his own party ticket. Besides, the deadline to submit a list of candidates for reserved seats has passed.

Read more here.

Former parliamentarian Nisar Panhwar and his son Mohsin have returned home, Panhwar’s son Mansoor has said.

“Thanks to everyone who raised their voice for my father and brother,” Mansoor said in a post on X.

The former MPA and his son were contesting the Feb 8 general elections from NA-231 (Malir-III) and PS-85 (Malir-II) as independent candidates, respectively.

However, they were said to be supported by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London.

The Sindh High Court had last month issued notices to police, Rangers and others on a petition seeking the recovery of Panhwar and Mohsin.

Bilawal has expressed hope that the news of the political alliance with the PML-N to form a coalition government will lead to a positive response from the markets.

Bilawal has said the details of the sharing of key constitutional offices between the PPP and PML-N will come at a later date.

PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari has said the struggle of the political alliance bidding to make the next government is for the sake of the country and future generations.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has said the journey ahead for the next government will not be easy but one fraught with many difficulties and obstacles but the coalition alliance will tackle them together.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has said the numbers are now complete with the PPP to elect Asif Ali Zardari as the next president for the next five years.

He also thanked other allied parties such as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid in this regard.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has said his party now has the “required numbers” with the PPP to be in a position to form the next government.

He thanked the PPP and PML-N leadership for the positive conclusion to the talks between the parties.