Live: Elections 2024

PTI’s Barrister Gohar has said the protest planned by the party on Saturday against alleged poll rigging will not just be a day-long affair, insisting “we plan to protest continuously.”

Speaking in Geo News programme Capital Talk hosted by senior journalist Hamid Mir, Gohar cited Imran as saying that parties planning similar protests against “rigging” must be approached by the PTI. “A committee has also been formed in this regard and we will approach political parties planning similar demonstrations,” he added.

Gohar said the legal battle against poll irregularities will go on, adding “we will not leave political ground empty.”

Omer Ayub Khan, who has been nominated as the PTI’s candidate for prime minister, says his first priority would be to free all political prisoners including Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other PTI workers.

In a social media post, he said: “PTI will contest and inshallah win the PM election in the National Assembly as we have won with 180 seats in the General Elections 2024.”

“PTI as a party will work for strengthening democratic institutions in Pakistan so that the country’s economy can be put on a path of positive trajectory and we can initiate our reforms programme to benefit the people of Pakistan,” Ayub added.

The PTI has claimed that the “illegitimate” and “fascist regime” in Pakistan was “maliciously attacking Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Imran Khan, and denying her medical aid”.

Bushra Bibi is currently serving sentences in two cases and is under arrest at Bani Gala. Yesterday, PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari had also claimed she was being denied permission to meet her family members.

PTI-backed independent candidate Ameer Muhammad Khan who won PP-89 from Bhakkar has joined the PPP.

In a post on X, the party’s media cell said the decision was taken after he met PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Faryal Talpur.

The statement added that other party leaders, including Shahid Hasan Khan and Chaudhry Hayat Mehmood, were also present.

Amir won the seat on a PTI ticket in the 2018 general elections.

PTI leader Barrister Gohar has termed reports of party-level talks with the PTI-Parliamentarian as “incorrect information”.

During a media talk today, he said: “We are not moving forward with PTI-P.”

Sher Afzal Marwat has said that the PTI will present Form 45s of party-backed winning candidates — who he alleged were falsely defeated — before the international media at 2pm tomorrow.

Addressing a press conference today, he added that Barrister Salman Akram Raja will give a detailed presentation on the irregularities by the Election Commission of Pakistan and the alleged rigging that took place.

MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has said the victories of independent candidates in the Feb 8 elections indicated that the polls were free “to some extent”.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Siddiqui said the polls in 2024 were better than those held in 2018.

The MQM leader said it is the need of the hour that all political parties must strive to protect the state instead of their politics.

He said MQM’s dominance in Sukkur, Nawabshah and Mirpurshah had not faded and the masses would still vote the party to power.

He added that the current situation warranted difficult decisions and everyone must play their due role in the process.

PTI leader Gohar Khan has said his party will hold a peaceful protest across the country on Saturday (Feb 17) against the “marginalisation of the PTI”.

“For this purpose, we are inviting all political parties whether it is the GDA, JI, JUI-F, TLP, ANP or any other party that believed the mandate was changed and rigging took place,” he said.

Gohar added that the PTI would record a peaceful protest on Saturday afternoon and requested the public to participate in it. “These elections were very critical […] and we won’t let our mandate be stolen.”

In response to a question, Gohar refuted reports regarding talks with the PPP.

The PTI has picked Mian Aslam as the party’s candidate for the slot of Punjab chief minister, Barrister Gohar Khan has said.

At a press conference outside Adiala Jail, he said: “Our candidate for chief minister in Balochistan is Salaar Kakar sahib. In KP, Aqibullah Khan’s name has been selected for the speaker of the KP Assembly.”

Gohar added that the names of candidates for the National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker would be announced soon.

PTI’s Barrister Gohar Khan has refuted reports of forming a government with the PML-N, PPP and MQM-P.

“We have, as per instructions by Imran Khan, announced that there will be no power-sharing with these parties,” he said, adding that the politics of PTI was not for power-sharing but for the public.

“The PTI is doing politics for the protection of the public’s rights and believes in the supremacy of the mandate and democracy,” he added. “Therefore, we don’t believe in any power-sharing.”

“We will do strong opposition until we get the full mandate, but we are in the position to form governments in Punjab, KP and Centre,” Gohar said.

PTI leader Barrister Gohar Khan has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan and the judiciary to immediately fix the cases filed by the PTI and take notice of the “fake mandate”.

At a media talk outside Adiala Jail, he said: “Today we held a detailed meeting on the formation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa formation and even how to fight in federal and Punjab.

“We also spoke to Khan sahib over the elections. We believe that the PTI has won 180 seats according to the record.”

Speaking to the media in Karachi, PPP’s Shazia Marri said the party wanted “justice for the voters”.

She stated that there were many “injustices” done in Karachi during the Feb 8 polls. “All these things are in front of us but that does not mean we will go towards chaos or promote hatred […] PPP has a positive thinking […] we want political and economic stability in the country.”

She further said that the party wanted Parliament to be functional and would ask the next government to implement its 10-point manifesto.

Speaking to the media in Karachi, PPP leader Shazia Marri has said that stability for Pakistan was of paramount importance for the party.

“In our history, we have mostly done politics of opposition. Looking at the results of the polls, the PPP chairman said that we lacked the numbers to bring forth our candidate for prime minister, which is Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari,” she said.

“Despite this, we do not want to do anything which will harm the country […] coming on the streets, challenging the system or hurling threats is not our way,” she said.

She said that the party had never tried to harm the country’s democratic system, for which it had given “countless sacrifices”. She went on to say that those who did not get their way were blocking roads and hurling threats.

“The press conference by Bilawal in Islamabad was that of a statesman, a leader […] who wants to see economic stability in the country,” she said. She said that the party was not looking at the premier’s candidacy or the federal cabinet but would “not challenge the system”.

She said that irregularities in the Feb 8 polls were being compiled by the party. “We will do everything while remaining within the law and the Constitution,” she said.

The PML-N has bashed PTI founder Imran Khan for “shamelessly seeking” American intervention.

In a post on X, the party said: “Imran Khan’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.”

The statement comes after PTI’s Barrister Saif said Imran wanted the US to closely monitor alleged rigging in the Feb 8 elections.

Ex-focal person on digital media of former prime minister Imran Khan, Dr Arslan Khalid, has responded to reports of the PTI forming an alliance with PTI-Parliamentarians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“Why will PTI even want to go in any alliance with PTI-Parliamentarians when they have two-third majority there. Some fake news don’t need party statements but little IQ to rebut them,” he said.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected a petition seeking to halt the recounting of votes in Mansehra’s PK-40, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reports.

The electoral watchdog turned down the plea citing Section 95 subsection 5 of the Election Act 2014, which authorises the returning officer to recount votes if the margin of victory is less than 5 per cent.

According to APP, PML-N candidate Sardar Shahjahan acknowledged his victory with a narrow margin of 332 votes in the general elections.

The report added that the petitioner failed to furnish substantial evidence to permit halting the recounting process.

Following the ECP’s directives, the RO has continued the recounting of votes. As of now, more than 100 polling stations’ votes have been recounted out of a total of 173 polling stations in PK-40 Mansehra. The entire process is expected to conclude within the next four days.

The iVerify Pakistan team sought to determine the veracity of the claim that international news outlet Al Jazeera termed a political coalition bidding to form Pakistan’s new government as “mandate thieves”.

To investigate the claim, the iVerify Pakistan team investigated what the Feb 14 Al Jazeera article actually said.

The article was titled: “‘Mandate thieves’: New Pakistan government takes shape amid slew of jabs”.

The phrase “mandate thieves” is used in the third paragraph of the article which is reproduced below:

“However, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated on multiple convictions, described the alliance as ‘mandate thieves’ and insisted that a government formed by the grouping of parties would lack ‘credibility’.”

As can be seen, the article expressly mentioned that the PTI described the political alliance as “mandate thieves” and was quoting the party.

Read the full report here.

“PTI candidates and workers all over Punjab start making arrangements for peaceful protest,” party leader Hammad Azhar said on X.

“Each union council and ward without exception will mobilise public for this purpose,” he said, adding that the time and venue would be announced at a short notice.

“Inform the public that they will have to come out on the streets peacefully to regain their stolen mandate,” he added.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has stated that repolling will be held on 6 polling stations of NA-43 (Tank-Dera Ismail Khan) on February 17 (Saturday).

The electoral watchdog said that the necessary instructions had been issued to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, police chief and relevant law enforcement agencies.

It should be mentioned that PTI-backed independent candidate Dawar Khan Kundi had won from the constituency.

Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif said that PTI leader Asad Qaiser’s brother Aqibullah had been nominated by the party for the speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

Speaking alongside Qaiser after meeting PTI founder Imran Khan, Saif relayed a message from the ex-premier. “He also gave a special message with regards to America […] the US had not played their role accordingly […] Imran has a message that the US has an opportunity […] and should keep an eye on rigging in the elections.”

“If they are champions of democracy, then they should voice it if they think the elections in Pakistan were not fair,” he said.

Speaking to the media after speaking with PTI founder at Adiala Jail, Asad Qaiser said that party secretary general Omar Ayub would be the party’s candidate for the prime minister’s slot.

He further said that Imran would give a date later today for a countrywide protest campaign against alleged rigging in the Feb 8 polls.

Qaiser further said he had been given an “assignment” to engage with all political parties protesting against the poll results, specifically mentioning JUI-F, ANP and QWP.

“We want that we all form a strategy because the mandate was stolen — this was the worst and most rigged election in our history,” he said, adding that polls lacked “credibility”.

On February 14, 2024, journalist Salman Durrani posted a cryptic message on social media platform X saying: “May God keep Taimur Jhagra safe.” The post gained over 158,000 views and 1,100 reshares.

An X user, who appears to be a PTI supporter based on their posts, made a post with the caption: “Ex-finance minister Taimur Khan was shifted to the hospital with injuries due to firing, may God bless him.”

The post was viewed by 10,000 users.

Similarly, another X user, describing herself as a human rights activist, posted regarding Jhagra’s status, asking: “Can anyone confirm the murderous attack on Taimur Jhagra?”

The post gained over 29,000 views.

Notably, none of the posts mentioned any other details such as the nature of the alleged injuries, where the alleged incident occurred or where Jhagra was admitted for treatment.

To verify the matter, the iVerify Pakistan team checked Jhagra’s official X account for any statement or post on the matter and found one at 10:51pm on Feb 14.

“I am fine and at home, by the grace of God. Kindly don’t spread rumours,” he said.

PTI lawyer Abuzar Salman Niazi also posted two minutes later that Jhagra was safe and reports about the attack were “fake”.

Read the full report here.

Pakistan’s election process is an internal sovereign affair and the nation is committed to upholding its constitutional obligations, the Foreign Office (FO) has said.

Responding to queries regarding the global reaction to the February 8 polls at a weekly press briefing, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch highlighted the participation of millions of voters during the general elections.

According to state-run Radio Pakistan, she mentioned that Pakistan welcomed foreign observers, including a group from the Commonwealth, demonstrating the country’s commitment to transparency in the electoral process.

Pakistan takes its constitutional obligations seriously, Baloch asserted, adding that any step that Pakistan takes in this regard is in conformity with its own constitutional obligations and not influenced by external advice.

Jamaat-i-Islami leader Liaquat Baloch has decried alleged “interference” in the electoral process, claiming that the results were manipulated to achieve “results of one’s choice”.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Baloch said, “In Pakistan’s politics, there is a game that 30-40 constituencies are targeted and the results are changed and engineering is done for [acquiring] governance.

“This interference took place in 1977 as well and these matters become apparent during each election,” he added.

The JI leader alleged that under a “set formula, 30-35 constituencies are targeted to achieve the results of one’s choice so that for the next five years, politics, democracy and the parliament remain under the powerful institutions”.

PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique has said that it was important to overcome “ego, selfishness and vengefulness” to pull Pakistan out of a myriad of crises.

In a post on X, he said no political party had a simple majority to form a government in the Centre. “The formation of a federal government consisting of all the parties in the National Assembly for a certain period should be considered with a cool heart,” Rafique added.

The election commission of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has issued a bailable arrest warrant for PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur for violating the electoral watchdog’s code of conduct during the region’s 2021 polls.

The development comes two days after he was nominated for the role of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister by his party.

The letter for the arrest warrant was issued to the Dera Ismail Khan deputy commissioner, with directives to present Gandapur before the AJK election commission by February 28.

During the 2021 elections, Gandapur was the federal minister for Kash­mir affairs and had also faced a ban on his participation and speeches in election-related events there while he campaigned for the PTI.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Liaquat Baloch has said that the recent elections were also “controversial similar to those in the past”.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Baloch said the elections would “create great risks for the country and the nation”.

“Those who have won are also very stressed and those who lost cannot understand why they lost,” the veteran JI leader said.

“There has been a further increase in the series of faults from past elections,” he added.

Lawyer and independent candidate Jibran Nasir has said the Election Commission of Pakistan will take up the complaints filed by Karachi candidates against the tabulation of Form-47s on Friday (tomorrow) at 10am in Islamabad.

Earlier, more than 40 petitions filed before the Sindh High Court were disposed of with directives to approach the ECP first.

Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, JI leader Hafiz Naeem has alleged that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) did not secure a majority at “a single polling station from 5,500” in the metropolis.

Whoever has “imposed” this party in the city has tried to “promote terrorism”, he said while referring to MQM. He added that this was not in the country’s benefit.

“This is against the people. This goes against the Constitution of Pakistan,” he said.

“The way this democratic process has been crushed, this should stop,” he stated. He demanded that all election results from Karachi be annulled.

Lawyer Abdul Moiz Jaferii has suggested that the PTI should issue letters to its nominated candidates who emerged victorious in the elections, which he says could help them in future legal proceedings.

In a post on X, he said the public letters “should congratulate them (candidates) whilst reminding them of their duty to be loyal to the party else 63-A would be attracted”.

“This will also help when they finally do end up at the Supreme Court about this issue, and they have something to explain the party position other than WhatsApp messages and media tickers, which haven’t impressed the SC in the recent past,” Jaferri added.

A Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court has extended former premier Imran Khan’s bail in four cases pertaining to May 9 violence until February 19.

The development comes days after incarcerated Imran and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi were granted bail in at least a dozen cases related to the May 9 incidents by a Rawalpindi court.

ATC judge Arshad Javed presided over the hearing today.

During the hearing, an assistant lawyer informed the court that Imran’s counsel was occupied with the Al Qadir Trust case and sought more time to present his arguments.

Subsequently, the ATC accepted the request and ordered that arrangements be made to ensure Imran’s attendance via video link from Adiala jail during the next hearing.

PTI leader Taimur Khan Jhagra has said that party workers are “trying to make sure [that] protests in Peshawar do not block roads from today”, as the party voices its concerns about the elections.

“Citizens should not be inconvenienced by the wrongdoing of a few officers,” Jhagra said in a post on X.

Addressing the chief secretary and the local administration, he said it was their “responsibility to hold to account those responsible for potential criminal action or inaction, or to fix the mathematical errors on nine Peshawar seats”.

Re-polling is under way in several polling stations of NA-88 (Khushab II), PS-18 (Ghotki I) and PK-90 (Kohat I).

District Returning Officer Agha Sher Zaman confirmed that repolling had begun at “two polling stations of Ghotki’s PS-18”.