ISLAMABAD: A joint meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) core committee and political committee has expressed concerns over the situation of Azad Kashmir and allegation of rigging.
The meeting was held to deliberate on the overall political situation in the country, the recent elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), continued incarceration of PTI founder Imran Khan, arrests of political workers, preparations for the public gathering scheduled for August 5 and other party matters.
The meeting unanimously rejected the elections held in Azad Kashmir, declaring them a mockery of democratic values, public mandate and electoral transparency.
The meeting regretted that while the people of Kashmir were on the streets demanding their rights and innocent citizens allegedly lay injured and dying, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) remained preoccupied with power-sharing and the distribution of political offices.
The core committee and political committee further claimed that the people of Azad Kashmir had overwhelmingly rejected both the PML-N and the PPP, and maintained that the exceptionally low voter turnout was clear evidence that the people had refused to endorse the electoral process and those behind it. The meeting concluded that PTI’s decision to boycott the elections had been fully vindicated and that the public’s non-participation amounted to a rejection of the “imposed” political system.
The committee also reviewed preparations for PTI’s public gathering in Peshawar on August 5 and expressed confidence that the event would serve as a powerful reflection of the aspirations of the people.
It condemned the continued denial of the fundamental constitutional and human rights of PTI founder Imran Khan.
On the other hand, PTI focal person Advocate Awais Younas Chaudhry submitted a list of six party leaders with the Adiala Jail authorities for a meeting with Imran Khan on Thursday (today).
The list includes Malik Tanzeel Waqas, Shahid Mughal, Raja Babar, Malik Ghulam Mujtaba, Jahanzeb Khan and Rabia Iqbal Khan.
The names were formally handed over to the prison administration in accordance with the established meeting procedure by the Islamabad High Court.
Meanwhile, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram, in a post on X, said: “Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has finally said the quiet part out loud. Democracy, PPP-style, means: if people refuse to vote, slap them until they do.”
“This is the same Bilawal who never stops lecturing the country about democratic values,” he added.
Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2026