RAWALPINDI/TAXILA: As it managed to retain almost all national seats from Rawalpindi and Murree, the PML-N also clinched nine out of 14 Punjab Assembly seats from these districts, effectively cementing the party’s hold on its bastion of the garrison city. The rest of the five seats went to PTI-backed independent candidates and a Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen nominee.

In 2018, there were 15 seats in Rawalpindi while in 2024 general elections, the number of seats was reduced to 13 for Rawalpindi and one for Murree – a newly created district – after the new delimitation exercise.

In complete contrast to these election results, the PTI had bagged 14 seats out of 15 in the 2018 polls, whereas one seat went to then-disgruntled PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

According to the unofficial results issued by ECP, PML-N candidates Muhammad Bilal Yamin won PP-6 (Rawalpindi I) in Murree, Shaukat Raja won PP-9 (Rawalpindi-III) in Gujar Khan, Naeem Ejaz won PP-10 (Rawalpindi IV), Imran Ilyas Ch bagged PP-11 (Rawalpindi V) in Taxila, Mohsin Ayub Khan clinched PP-12 (Rawalpindi VI) in Taxila, Malik Iftikhar Ahmad won PP-14 (Rawalpindi VIII), Malik Mansoor Afsar bagged PP-15 (Rawalpindi IX), Ziaullah Shah won PP-16, (Rawalpindi X), and Abdul Latif won PP-17.

Attock’s PP-4 constituency in Pindigheb records 63pc voter turnout

Muhammad Shabbir Awan emerged victorious on PP-7 (Rawalpindi II) in Murree, Javed Kausar bagged the PP-8 seat in Gujar Khan, Malik Fahad Masood won the PP-13 seat, MWM’s Asad Abbass emerged victorious on the PP-18 seat whereas Muhammad Tanveer Aslam clinched the PP-19.

PTI’s former MPAs Ijaz Khan, Rashid Hafeez, Lattasab Satti, and Wasiq Abbasi also suffered defeat in the elections. Though the former ruling party launched new faces, they lost the polls due to PML-N candidates, mostly. It may be noted that the PTI leaders had gone underground in the run to polls to avoid arrests in the wake of the May 9 riots as well as other cases. The PTI used novel methods to connect to their votes, especially the use of AI by its leader Imran Khan to mobilise the support base.

Good turnout in Attock

In Attock district, most constituencies witnessed a decent turnout, but in PP-4 in Pindigheb the voter turnout was recorded at 63 per cent, as per the data compiled by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The total number of votes in this constituency is 280,147 while 178,692 votes were polled. The constituency is home to the TLP leader, Saad Rizvi, and effective canvassing by the religious party played a key role in the mass mobilisation of voters.

In PP-1 (Attock I) in Hazro, the turnout was 43 per cent. Nisar Ali Khan, a political observer, said there was a lack of coordination between the candidates and their supporters, which was amplified by the suspension of mobile networks.

In PP-2 (Attock II) in Hassanabdal, 57pc voter turnout was recorded. The number of registered voters in this constituency is 243,061 out of which 140,337 polled their votes.

The PP-3 comprising Attock city and cantonment areas recorded a turnout of 52pc.

The number of registered voters in this constituency is 227,213 votes while 120, 166 votes were polled.

The PP-5 comprising Jand tehsil recorded 53pc turnout. The number of registered voters in this constituency is 305,175 while 163,570 votes were polled.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2024