[🇵🇰] Pakistan General Elections -- 2024

[Old School]

CIA? No need. Pakistan takes care of itself, all by itself.

Can you please clarify what you are suggesting here?

 

[ghazi]

Pakistan may face more economic misery if election result unclear​

Feb 10, 20:38
The possibility of a political stalemate in Pakistan leading to delays in both reforms and crucial foreign funding has sparked a selloff in its international bonds and fuelled analysts' fears of further economic misery for the country.

Results coming in from Thursday's election saw an unexpectedly strong showing for independents - mostly supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan - trailed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Sharif has already claimed victory, but his party remains far short of the necessary number of seats to form a government on its own.

The election, which was itself much delayed, comes at a pivotal moment.

Pakistan is in an economic crisis, with dwindling foreign currency reserves that will be further strained by a $1 billion bond payment due in two months, while its $3 billion funding programme with the International Monetary Fund expires on April 12.

"Pakistan will be entering into more severe political and economic instability if no party emerges with a simple majority," said Sajid Amin of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, a former adviser to the ministry of finance.

 

[ghazi]

'In Karachi, robbery was committed, not theft': Siraj​

Feb 10, 21:11

In a strongly worded post shared on his official X handle, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq denounced the purported electoral rigging, labeling it a direct affront to the integrity of the vote and public sentiment.

Describing it as the most egregious instance of rigging in history, he claimed that results were manipulated in favour of PML-N, PPP, and MQM, particularly highlighting the situation in Karachi as akin to robbery, not mere theft.


Expressing his firm stance against such manipulation, Haq declared his personal participation in the protest in Karachi, emphasising that robbery of the people's mandate is unequivocally unacceptable.

 

[ghazi]

 

[ghazi]

Internet monitor Netblocks on Saturday reported a nationwide disruption to X (formerly Twitter) in Pakistan amid political turmoil.

"Confirmed: Live metrics show a nation-scale disruption to X/Twitter across #Pakistan; the incident comes amid political turmoil after a controversial election held under an internet and mobile network blackout," NetBlocks said on X.

 

[ghazi]

Mirza family routed from Badin politics​

Feb 11, 00:46
The Mirza family of Badin, long-time adversaries of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and outspoken critics of the Zardari family, has been routed, losing all seats from the district for the first time since their entry into parliament in 1993.

Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, the former home minister of Sindh, his wife Dr Fehmida Mirza, Pakistan’s first female National Assembly speaker, and their son Barrister Hasnain Mirza failed to maintain their political dominance in Badin, attributing their decline to the “rifts” with the PPP.

According to a close associate of the Mirza family, “A financially weak Mirza family cannot defeat the PPP’s affluent landlords.”

 

[ghazi]

Protests erupt across Sindh over alleged poll rigging​

Feb 11, 00:28
A day after the election results were announced, protests erupted in several districts of Sindh on Saturday, as losing candidates and their political parties alleged irregularities in the vote counting system. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has called for widespread protests on February 11.

Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro, the provincial leader of JUI-F, led a sit-in outside a temporary office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in Sukkur district on Saturday. Soomro claimed that the results were manipulated to favour the Pakistan Peoples Party and warned of blocking the National Highway at 28 different locations in Sindh from Karachi to Kashmore. He set a deadline of 8am on February 11 for the ECP to accept their demands.

In Badin district, candidates from the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), led by former speaker of the National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza and former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, along with their supporters, held a sit-in protest at DC Chowk. Dr Zulfiqar alleged organised rigging through the District Returning Officers (DROs) and Returning Officers (ROs) in these elections, accusing the PPP of imposing mafias in the guise of elected representatives on the people of Badin.

 

[ghazi]

Protests erupt across Sindh over alleged poll rigging​

Feb 11, 00:28
A day after the election results were announced, protests erupted in several districts of Sindh on Saturday, as losing candidates and their political parties alleged irregularities in the vote counting system. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has called for widespread protests on February 11.

Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro, the provincial leader of JUI-F, led a sit-in outside a temporary office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in Sukkur district on Saturday. Soomro claimed that the results were manipulated to favour the Pakistan Peoples Party and warned of blocking the National Highway at 28 different locations in Sindh from Karachi to Kashmore. He set a deadline of 8am on February 11 for the ECP to accept their demands.

In Badin district, candidates from the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), led by former speaker of the National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza and former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, along with their supporters, held a sit-in protest at DC Chowk. Dr Zulfiqar alleged organised rigging through the District Returning Officers (DROs) and Returning Officers (ROs) in these elections, accusing the PPP of imposing mafias in the guise of elected representatives on the people of Badin.

 

[ghazi]

Three newly-elected independent MNAs join PML-N​

Feb 10, 23:04
Three newly-elected independent members of National Assembly announced allegiance to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday, increasing the seats for Nawaz Sharif’s party two days after the general elections.

Barrister Aqeel, Raja Khurram Nawaz, and Mian Khan Bugti, successful independent candidates from various constituencies, have officially announced their decision to join the PML-N, adding to the party's growing strength.

 

[ghazi]

 

[ghazi]

JUI-F candidate concedes defeat to PTI, urges Nawaz to do the same​

Feb 10, 21:52
In an unprecedented move, Mufti Kifayat, the candidate from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) for NA-15, has declared that there were no malicious activities during the election, and the public has voted in favour of the PTI-backed candidate Shahzada Gustashap.

He urged the supreme leader of PML-N, Nawaz Sharif, to gracefully acknowledge defeat, asserting that his case is notably weak. Kifayat concluded by stating that he, too, accepts the election result.

 

[Old School]

Political horse-trading is going on right now.

 

[ghazi]

Imran Khan’s loyalists triumph, betrayers bite the dust​

Updated Feb 10, 19:05
The loyalists of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan – some of them political nobodies – have defied all odds and emerged triumphant, beating political juggernauts in the high-stakes general elections held on February 8. While Khan’s loyalists emerged victorious, those who betrayed him received humiliating drubbing despite having support of the powerful circles in the country.

The PTI was under the state’s wrath after the May 9 attacks on national security installations nationwide. Every effort was made to literally erase Khan’s party from the political arena by jailing its top leadership and workers, forcing them to change loyalties or give up politics, and imposing a media blackout on their activities.

It became extremely difficult to stay loyal to Khan.

Prominent among those who ditched Khan was Pervez Khattak, a former chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He jumped ship to form a splinter group by the name of PTI-Parliamentarians. Sugar cartel Jahangir Tareen – who was once in the inner sanctum of Khan – also cobbled up a party, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), apparently at the behest of powers that be to woo PTI deserters.

However, both the parties received humiliating drubbing in the elections.

 

[ghazi]

Political horse-trading is going on right now.

Yes ! on larger scale and openly, No shame.

 

[ghazi]