Live: Elections 2024

Speaking to the media at a rally organised by the PTI in Islamabad, party leader Khurram Sher Zaman lamented the “day light robbery” in Karachi during the Feb 8 polls.

He decried that seats were “handed out” to the MQM-P. He noted that when the PTI formed its government in 2018, Karachi had played the biggest role in this regard.

He said according to the Form 45, the PTI had won 19 National Assembly seats in Karachi. He said that the Jamaat-i-Islami had garnered the second highest number of votes according to the Form 45.

Usman Dar’s mother Rehana Dar, who contested the Feb 8 polls with the support of the PTI from NA-71, said that she was a housewife who had nothing to do with politics but was compelled to contest the elections.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the PTI in Islamabad, she alleged that her house was raided on the directives of PML-N’s Khawaja Asif.

She said that thousands of “brave sons, mothers and daughters” showed her support in the polls. “The votes were not for me, they were for Imran Khan. The city of Sialkot loves Imran Khan,” she said.

“Contest elections outside. Don’t break doors and disrespect a mother,” she said. “If you want, I am ready to contest the polls again,” she said.

Ayaz Amir, who contested the Feb 8 polls with the support of the PTI, has said: “What were mechanics of rigging in my Chakwal constituency NA-58 […] the one thing done early in the evening was that the office of the returning officer (RO) was sealed.”

Speaking a press conference in Islamabad organised by the PTI, he said that the RO’s office was sealed by the police and the “caretakers of the caretakers”.

He said that he visited the RO office at 6pm on election day but he was kicked out around 7:30-8pm. “Which means that the RO and other people were there and they could do what they wanted,” he said.

He said that he was in possession of the “original” Form 45 of all polling stations in his constituency.

Salman Akram Raja, who contested the Feb 8 polls with the PTI’s backing, said that the “rigging” which happened during the Feb 8 polls took place at the office of the returning officer (RO).

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, he said, “Normally one talks of rigging at polling stations, where the accusation is that the rival candidates carried out the rigging. But once the votes have all been brought to the office of the RO […] and once Form 45, that tabulates the result in every polling station, has been brought to the office of the RO, one expects that the final aggregate based on the results from each of the polling stations would be done fairly by the RO.”

He said that what happened on election night and Feb 9 was a “massive assault” on democracy in Pakistan. He alleged that “fictitious” Form 47 were created and the Form 45 were “tampered with”.

“What is the point in holding an election if you are going to create a result out of thin air?” he asked. “If the state officials responsible for safeguarding the election can be won over […] then every election to be carried out in Pakistan becomes a farce,” he said.

“If this is not reversed then it spells death for democracy in Pakistan. This was not just an election fraud, it was a wholesale assault on democracy in Pakistan,” he said.

During a press conference in Islamabad, PTI’s Shandana Gulzar gave a presentation on alleged rigging in the Feb 8 polls.

“We got 1.25 million votes in Karachi [but] we did not get a single seat. Jamaat-i-Islami received 700,000 votes and not a single National Assembly seat in Karachi,” she said.

“In Punjab, we got 13.6m votes and we were given 55 seats. This is a joke with the people of Pakistan,” she said. Showing graphics on a large screen, she said that at 3am on Feb 9, the PTI had won 154 seats in the National Assembly while the PML-N and PPP had won 47 each.

She said that the party was winning 42 seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, of which some were stolen and the party was handed 37.

“From Islamabad, we were winning three and all three were stolen from us,” he said. “In Punjab we were winning 115 and 55 were given to us. In Balochistan we were getting four we got one,” she said.

PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan said that 2024 would be remembered due to the “biggest voter fraud” in Pakistan’s history against the party and its candidates.

“According to our estimates, out of 177 [National Assembly] seats which were supposed to be ours, only 92 have been given to us. And 85 seats have been taken away from us fraudulently,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad, adding that the party was taking constitutional and legal steps in this regard.

“We have verified data about 46 seats and it is being compiled for 39 seats,” he said. He said that the party had three ways to ascertain alleged rigging in the polls, saying that there were discrepancies between the Form 45 and the Form 47.

He further said that there was also a huge difference in the numbers of votes polled for National Assembly and provincial assembly seats. He said that the number of rejected votes, in certain cases, exceeded the margin of victory.

PTI’s Seemabia Tahir then took the stage and played a video of alleged rigging in the Feb 8 polls.

Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has challenged his conviction and sentence in the cipher case in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

In his plea — filed through lawyers Ali Bukhari, Taimur Malik and Salman Safdar — Qureshi urged the IHC to set aside his conviction and acquit him of the charges of making state secrets public.

“There is not a speck of evidence that the appellant aided, abetted or facilitated the co-accused in any manner,” the petition argued. It highlighted that the foreign ministry was the “original recipient” of the cipher telegram but had been “kept at bay”.

It further argued that the complainants had failed to show how Qureshi or “any co-accused engaged in actions detrimental to national security or in aid of foreign powers”.

Separate petitions have been filed before the Islamabad High Court through Barrister Ali Zafar against Imran Khan’s sentences in the Toshakhana and cipher cases.

The Toshakhana plea made the state and the accountability bureau respondents and urged the IHC to “suspend the execution of the conviction and sentence” imposed on Imran.

The petition pertaining to the cipher case made the state and Interior Ministry Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar respondents in the case. It urged the high court to set aside the conviction and sentence and acquit him of the charges.

It contended that the trial court passed the judgment in a hasty manner without providing the suspect an opportunity for a fair trial.

Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb said that after as election results were being compiled after polling on Feb 8, they were being shown on TV.

“Form 45 were floated on the media and social media beforehand […] when they were being shown on TV screens, they were being compiled,” she said, adding that she stated again and again that they were incorrect.

She said that an impression was created of winning or losing on a small percentage of results.

Speaking to Dawn News on the programme ‘Doosra Rukh’, PPP leader Khurshid Shah has said the party opposes the appointment of Ishaq Dar as the finance minister.

Asked if Dar can fix Pakistan’s economy, Shah replied: “Dar cannot save the economy; he was the one who damaged it.”

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Mustafa Kamal has said that his party wants a “working relationship” with all other political parties, not arguments.

In a post on X, Kamal said, “We have the mandate for this city (Karachi). We want a working relationship with all; the Peoples Party (PPP) should check its ranks.”

He termed the economic crisis as the biggest issue facing the country, saying that it was “connected to Karachi”.

The PTI has called for countrywide protests tomorrow (Saturday) against the “unprecedented, massive [and] brazen rigging” in the February 8 elections.

In a post on X, the PTI claimed that its “win of 180 National Assembly seats and a two-thirds majority in Parliament was cut down to half”.

While party leader Hammad Azhar said the protests were to take place at 2pm, the PTI stated the scheduled time as 12pm tomorrow.

PTI leader Hammad Azhar has called on his party ticket holders and workers as well as the public to “prepare for the historic and peaceful protest” that it will hold at 2pm tomorrow (Saturday) against alleged rigging in the recent elections.

In a post on X, Azhar said that rallies would be convened from “every union council”, but did not specify any location for the protests, saying they will be announced soon.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, IPP leader Aun Chaudhry said he had come before the media to “expose Salman Akram Raja for who he really is” after the latter — a PTI-backed candidate who contested the Feb 8 polls — filed a petition with the Lahore High Court (LHC) over the results of NA-128; the two had contested the general elections from the constituency.

Chaudhry said he was the true winner of the NA-128 seat based on the Form 45 issued. “The Form 45 that you give is correct, but the one we give is incorrect?” he asked.

“I am sitting here today because you have compelled me to expose you. When you talk about my country, I will not stay quiet,” he said. “I have won, and I will claim this victory; this propaganda and these fake results you are spreading, I will not let this happen.”

Posing a question to Raja, Chaudhry asked: “Why was there no rigging in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Where you have lost, you claim there was rigging. Where you won, there is no rigging.

“The organised rigging you did in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will also be exposed,” he warned.

PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi has said the party will field its own candidates for president, National Assembly speaker and Senate chairman.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, his said that the PPP has pledged support for the PML-N for the prime minister’s election because the country “cannot afford another election right now”, adding that there was “no other option”.

“We are a majority party in Balochistan currently, and the way we’re supporting political parties in Punjab and the Centre, we hope to receive the same support in Balochistan,” he said.

He added that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will soon announce candidates for the position of chief minister in Balochistan and Sindh.

Sardar Mohammad Riaz, the MPA-elect from PK-33 (Kolai-Palas), has joined independents backed by the PTI.

“I have joined PTI as people of my constituency are still living without basic amenities, and I want to bring Kolai-Palas among prosperous and developed districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Riaz, who earlier met Ali Amin Gandapur, the nominee for the chief minister slot, expressed optimism that the new provincial government would launch such development programmes which could improve the living standard of the people in remote parts of the province like Kolai-Palas.

Two of three seats of the provincial assembly in Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan and Kolai-Palas districts were won by the independents not backed by PTI, and one of them so far joined the latter.

PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi noted that a PTI delegation visited the JUI-F yesterday. Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, he said that it was good that the two sides gathered.

Kundi said that JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had alleged that his party’s mandate was stolen. “If it was stolen, then who was it given to? To the same delegation who visited him yesterday.”

Talking about Fazl’s comments on the alleged involvement of ex-spymaster Lt Gen Faiz Hameed in the no-confidence move against Imran Khan, Kundi noted that the former army official was posted at the Peshawar Corps Commander at the time.

He further said that Fazl was the head of the Pakistan Democratic Movement at the time and could have stopped the no-confidence move, adding that the JUI-F chief benefited the most from the move.

Repolling is being held today at seven polling stations of Balochistan’s NA-253 (Ziarat/Harnai) and PB-9 (Kohlu), according to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

In an earlier statement, it had said that polls could not be conducted on February 8 at the said stations due to poor law and order.

Relevant instructions had been issued to the provincial chief secretary and police chief as well as other law enforcement agencies, the ECP stated.

After re-polling was held in 25 polling stations of Kohat’s PK-90 constituency, PTI-backed independent candidate Aftab Alam, who had already been declared the winner on Feb 8, has retained the seat.

Alam dealt a stunning defeat to the runner-up, Amjid Afridi of PPP, a three-time winner on the same seat.

Earlier, Alam was leading with 41,043 votes, while Afridi had received 33,785 votes. According to the fresh tally, Alam bagged 45,506 votes and Afridi 34,315 votes.

Read more here.

The Supreme Court has fixed a petition seeking to declare the Feb 8 general elections null and void for hearing. A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Mussarat Hilali, will take up the plea on February 19 (Monday).

Filed by a citizen named Ali Khan, the petition urges 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”. It also seeks a stay order to stop the formation of a new government till the case is decided.

The Election Commission of Pakistan and the federal government have been made respondents in the case.

BNP-M President Sardar Akhtar Mengal has predicted that the new government will collapse within one and a half years as people have not given majority to any party in the recent elections.

In a video message, Mengal said, “The new government comprising two to three parties could not be run for more than one and a half years.”

In view of the past experience of coalition governments one can say that coalition partners will blackmail each other as happened in the past, he pointed out.

Read more here.

The United States is concerned about reports of intimidation and voter suppression in Pakistan’s election, Reuters quotes the White House as saying.

“We are watching this very, very closely,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, expressing concern about “intimidation and voter suppression.”

“International monitors are still taking a look at those tallies, I’m not going to get ahead of that process,” he added about the vote count.

His comments came after the Foreign Office once again rejected international criticism of the election process, saying polls were an internal, sovereign affair of Pakistan.

Moonis Elahi, the son of PTI President Parvez Elahi, has claimed that “people close to” PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif said he was “totally against” bringing a vote of no confidence against ex-premier Imran Khan.

He made the claim in a post on X, where he asked PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb if former premier Shehbaz Sharif convinced Nawaz to allow a vote of no confidence against Imran.

The PTI is expected to hold a press conference in Islamabad today where it said it would present “original and signed Form-45s as proof of extensive electoral fraud in compilation” of the election results.

PTI leader Salman Akram Raja would lead the event, scheduled for 2pm at the capital’s Marriott Hotel.

As the PTI initiates talks with its bitter rival JUI-F, a faction within PML-N has also advised the Sharif family to extend an olive branch to Imran Khan’s party, a party leader has told Dawn.

However, any thaw in the animosity between the two parties is unlikely in the near future as the leadership is “in no mood” to extend any friendly gestures to the PTI.

The initial suggestion for a reconciliatory approach with all parties was proffered by senior PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique, who proposed the idea of a national government, having representation of all parties, including the PTI-backed independent candidates who won on Feb 8.

Similar sentiments were expressed by another PML-N leader, who said that the fight with PTI “needs to end”.

On the flip side, a PML-N leader close to Maryam Nawaz Sharif told Dawn that the leadership was in no mood for reconciliation with Mr Khan’s party.

Read more here.

PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub has claimed that the party-backed MNA-elect from Sialkot has been “abducted” and “is being forced” to leave the party and join the PML-N.

In a post on X, Ayub said he condemned “this rigging process and enforced disappearances in the strongest words possible”.

PTI lawyer Abuzar Salman Niazi has claimed that Brigadier (rtd) Aslam Ghumman, the party’s MNA-elect from Sialkot’s NA-74, has been “abducted”.

The X account of the PTI’s Gujrat chapter also claimed the same, saying Ghumman was “abducted by unknown people”.

PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique has called former premier and PTI founder Imran Khan the “biggest beneficiary and the one responsible for the political tug-of-war” in the country.

Reacting to the recent talks between the PTI and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam—Fazl (JUI-F), Rafique remarked that the PTI might now also approach the PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari in “another U-turn move”.

The Awami National Party has ruled out negotiations with the PTI, claiming it had stolen ANP’s mandate.

In a statement, ANP central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that PTI senior leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser had contacted the party leadership.

However, Hussain said that ANP was of the view that under the prevailing circumstances negotiations with PTI as a party was not appropriate.

Hussain said that PTI was being given government through rigging in elections and in such a situation the ANP had the only option to hold protest rallies. “ANP has been defeated and PTI was supported,” he said.

He said his party had already announced its plan of holding protests from Feb 20 against election rigging, alteration of results and use of money.

PML-N leader Khawaja Asif has called out the double standards of politicians who do not refrain from hurling corruption allegations at each other or using the religious card but they align together when their interests are at stake.

In a post on X, the former defence minister said on the one hand all the political parties were accusing each other of being beneficiaries of rigging and on the other hand they were talking about joint protests and even government formation.

“In these circumstances, if the people, who are watching us all, adopt the culture of moral and social degradation, who will be responsible for it?” he asked.

“Our first responsibility is the high moral education of the people by becoming a role model,” Asif concluded. “We are managing their moral decline by our actions.”