QUETTA: Provincial emir of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Senator Maulana Abdul Wasey has claimed massive rigging in the re-election at seven polling stations in the PB-36 Kalat constituency and announced that the party has called a meeting after Eid to decide whether to withdraw from the current democratic system and establish a “public assembly”.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday along with Senator Shakoor Khan Ghabzai and Maulana Khurshid Ahmed, he claimed that the elections in the constituency were heavily manipulated and that similar rigging was expected in the upcoming by-election in Khuzdar.

He alleged that the 2024 general elections were not elections but an “auction”, claiming that a plan regarding Balochistan had been devised at a private hotel in Quetta and that the same plan was implemented during the Kalat polls. Maulana Wasey said JUI-F would continue its struggle against what he described as injustice and oppression and would not lose hope.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026

Opinion

Editorial

More stabilisation
Updated 23 May, 2026

More stabilisation

The stabilisation achieved through painful growth compression steps could have been used as a platform for structural reforms.
Appalling tactics
23 May, 2026

Appalling tactics

IN Punjab, an encounter with the law can quickly turn deadly. Encouraged by a culture of ‘shoot first, ask...
Failed experiment
23 May, 2026

Failed experiment

IT is going from bad to worse for Shan Masood and Pakistan. It is now seven successive Test defeats away from home;...
Hardening lines
Updated 22 May, 2026

Hardening lines

Iranian suspicions about Pakistan’s close ties with Washington and Gulf states persist, while Pakistan remains uneasy over Tehran’s growing engagement with India.
Unliveable city
22 May, 2026

Unliveable city

IN Karachi, when it comes to water, it is every man and woman for themselves. A persistent shortage in available...
Glof alert
22 May, 2026

Glof alert

FOR many communities in northern Pakistan, the sound of heavy rain now carries a different meaning. It is no longer...