Live: Elections 2024

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”.

PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh has said his party has created a “digital footprint” of the Form-45s for the elections to “further safeguard the people’s mandate”.

In a post on X, Sheikh said that ex-premier Imran Khan had “made ‘Form-45’ a household term” and that the public could no longer be fooled.

He demanded that the winner from his constituency NA-238, Muttahida Qaumi Movement—Pakistan’s Sadiq Iftikhar, “come out and admit he cheated”.

After the nomination of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif for the post of prime minister to lead a multi-party alliance in the Centre, resentment has been brewing in the former ruling party, which also spilled over onto social media.

Now that Nawaz is “sidelined”, the rank and file in the party is finding it difficult to swallow the pill. On Wednesday, there were more than 91,000 tweets seemingly by PML-N supporters under the hashtag ‘Pakistan Ko Nawaz Dou’.

What happened to the election slogan ‘Pakistan Ko Nawaz Dou’ and is Nawaz’s political career over, were the questions frequently being asked by social media users in several tweets.

A source close to the Sharif family told Dawn that Nawaz Sharif decided to withdraw from the race for his daughter Maryam Nawaz, who will lead Punjab as the first woman chief minister of the largest province by population.

Read more here.

During a vote recount, two people were killed and 13 others injured in an armed clash between the supporters of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and PPP candidates outside the office of the returning officer in the industrial town of Hub on Wednesday.

Officials said BAP’s Balochistan chapter president Sardar Mohammad Saleh Bhootani claimed victory on the Hub seat (PB-21) by obtaining 30,­910 votes according to unofficial results against PPP’s Ali Hassan Zehri, who challenged the result and sought a recount of votes.

However, on the PPP candidate’s complaint, the election commission held the result of PB-21 and ordered a recount of votes.

Meanwhile, officials said, supporters of both sides attempted to enter the Civic Centre and clashed with each other. During the clash that continued for two hours, the officials added, gunshots were fired, leaving several people wounded.

Read more here.

As the protests against alleged rigging in the election intensified in several parts of the country, PPP leaders and the candidates who won the national and provincial assembly seats from Balochistan at a joint presser announced that the party would form a coalition government, led by a jiyala chief minister.

It was unfortunate that defeated candidates and their parties had started criticising institutions, officers and candidates in strong words, the MNAs-elect and MPAs-elect regretted while addressing the press conference here on Wednesday.

They said the PPP emerged as the single majority party in the province by clinching 11 seats, as all other parties could not win on as many seats. Having the majority seats, their party had the right to form a government in Balochistan, they said, adding that other parties were being approached for the formation of a coalition government.

The MNAs-elect who spoke at the presser include former chief minister of Balochistan Nawabzada Jamal Khan Raisani and Malik Shah, while Haji Ali Madad Jattak, Obaidullah, Abdul Samad, Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi and Mir Asghar Rind were among the speakers who have been declared successful on the provincial assembly seats.

Read more here.

Re-polling is to be held today in several polling stations of NA-88 (Khushab II), PS-18 (Ghotki I) and PK-90 (Kohat I), according to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

In an earlier statement, the ECP had said that elections would be re-conducted in 26 polling stations of NA-88 as the polling material had been burned by a crowd.

It further said that polls would be held again in two stations of PS-18 as “unknown men had snatched polling material” there.

The reason for re-election in more than a dozen polling stations of PK-90 was the “polling material there being damaged by terrorists”, the ECP had said.

MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has said that if the PPP is ready to become a part of the government then his party would be fully ready to cooperate with it.

“This is not our matter but of Pakistan’s. We don’t have an enmity with the PPP. We want genuine democracy.”

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has said that negotiations regarding government formation have still not kicked off.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he said the party was clear that it would take all decisions of an immediate nature that were needed.

MQM-P delegation visited the Awami National Party’s (ANP) office in Karachi to discuss the post-election scenario and ways to work together.

Holding a joint media talk after the meeting, MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the country now needed a “real democracy” that could serve its citizen.

ANP leader Shahi Syed said injustices done to the province of Sindh should be rectified. “We will focus on resolving core issues faced together and work together,” he added.

A PTI-backed independent candidate, Ejaz Swati, who won the PS-88 Malir seat from Karachi, has joined the PPP.

In a statement released by the PPP, Swati expressed his commitment to the prosperity and development of his constituency through his affiliation with the party.

“I believe that the PPP will actively work for the betterment of the constituency,” he stated, emphasising his unconditional decision to become part of the PPP.

PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan has hinted at coming to terms with the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite an earlier “misunderstanding”.

Speaking on a Geo News programme today, he said: “Maybe we decide something with them in KP. There might have been a misunderstanding with them earlier.”

The PTI-backed independent candidate who won his National Assembly seat from Swat in the 2024 general elections expressed that he appreciated JI’s role in the past.

He also commended JI leader Hafiz Naeem for setting an example by forgoing his seat on accounts of rigging.

“I respect them with all my heart. After PTI I respect them the most because they have internal democracy within their party,” Khan added.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has complained about restrictions imposed due to threat alerts from security agencies about possible attacks on the party.

In an interview with Hum News, he said: “The establishment’s [dealing] with us, we used to get threat letters daily which they portray with good wishes and we say you were stopping us. And if we don’t stop then you attack us and open the door for it and eliminate our security.”

PML-N leader Khawaja Asif has made it clear that party supremo Nawaz Sharif will remain the decision-maker even without the premiership.

Speaking on a Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, the former defence minister said Nawaz would have a “factual role” in the formation of the government and afterwards.

“Obviously, Shehbaz has the support of Nawaz,” he said. “Nawaz is the Quaid. Even if he doesn’t become PM, every last decision will be his.”

Asif maintained that apart from some, most of the general elections in the country have been controversial.

“Despite this, things did move forward. I feel the system should not be disrupted,” he said. “Even we have reservations in these elections. You cannot say fair and free polls were held.”

In response to a question, Asif said there would always be a risk of PPP “pulling the rug”, adding that PML-N has initiated talks with PPP leaders over this. “Once the way to get the economy on track is achieved, a way for political stability will also be found,” he added.

Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi has said that legal forums are available for the redressal of complaints regarding elections, Radio Pakistan reports.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, he said any candidate can approach the legal forums if they have any complaints.

Regarding the summoning of the National Assembly session, Solangi said the summary to convene the sitting of the House would be issued with his signature. He added that the session would be summoned at an appropriate time.

The minister highlighted that the Election Commission of Pakistan has to notify poll results within 14 days after the elections. He noted that these 21 days will be completed on the 29th of this month, hence, a session of the National Assembly can be summoned at any time until that date.

The coordination and liaison committees of the PPP and PML-N met for a consultative meeting in Islamabad today.

According to a statement released by the PPP, proposals to counter inflation, unemployment and poverty were discussed in the meeting.

Both sides also agreed on the need for a stable democratic government in Pakistan to deal with economic, political, legal and security challenges.

The statement added that another meeting will be held tomorrow in which the PML-N representatives in other provinces will participate.

The PML-N has said that six more newly elected Punjab Assembly members have joined the party.

In a post on X, it said the freshly inducted members included Sultan Bajwa from Nankana Sahib’s PP-132, Shazia Tareen from Lodhran, Mehmood Qadir Laghari and Hanif Patafi from Dera Ghazi Khan, Taimur Lali from Chiniot and Ali Asgar from Leh.

PTI leader Taimur Khan Jhagra has claimed that “unprecedented rigging” took place in the Feb 8 polls.

“Specifically in Peshawar, I keep on saying that that the blatant falsification of results on 8 seats has been done in a way that cannot be hidden,” he wrote in a post on X.

Jhagra also expressed surprise that JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman and ANP’s Aimal Wali would “vouch for the rigging done on my seat”.

The Awami National Party has said its protests against “rigged elections” would commence from Swabi on February 20, followed by Charsadda.

The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has said that the highest voter turnout in Pakistan’s 12th general election was from Tharparkar in Sindh while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan saw the lowest number of voters.

According to a report, 60.6 million voters exercised their right to vote on February 8. “Nearly 5.8 million more people voted in GE-2024 as compared to 2018 when 54.8 million had cast their votes,” Fafen said.

The report added that despite an increase in voters, the turnout dipped from 52.1 per cent in 2018 to 47.6pc in 2024, primarily due to an increase in the number of registered voters from 106 million in 2018 to 128.6 million in 2024.

“In addition, harsh winter in parts of the country, fears of violence and terrorism in KP and Balochistan as well as uncertainty about the conduct of elections may have also adversely affected the turnout,” it added.

The Fafen report is based on the analysis of Form 47 of the 264 National Assembly constituencies published on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s website.