RAWALPINDI: The Awami League followed up its overwhelming victory in the National Assembly elections by making a clean sweep of yesterday’s [Dec 17] East Pakistan Assembly polls. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s party has thus gained an absolute majority not only in the National Assembly but also in the East Pakistan Legislature. The AL had bagged 266 of 279 East Pakistan Assembly contested seats. Elections to 21 remaining seats of 300-member House are scheduled for Jan 17.

In West Pakistan’s most populous provinces — the Punjab and Sind — the [PPP] repeated its performance in the National Assembly and captured big chunks of seats in each province to gain an absolute majority. Mr. Z.A. Bhutto’s PPP … won 113 seats in the Punjab, 32 in Sind and three in the North-West Frontier Province, including the prestigious PF-1 Peshawar, in which its provincial chief Mr Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao edged out Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan … of the Pakistan Muslim League.

Provisional results of only 39 seats were available with the Provincial Election Commission in Peshawar until 1900 hours. It is reported that the result of the remaining seat … comprising the snow-bound area of Atagram, could not be finalised owing to difficulties in its transmission….

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2020