[🇵🇰] Pakistan General Elections -- 2024

[ghazi]

Politics of disenfranchisement: Why Pakistan’s youth no longer believes in the sanctity of the vote​

With a barrage of challenges awaiting the incoming government, Pakistan’s cyclical dystopia perseveres. Another meaningless election. Another debilitated government. Another divided house. And round and round we go.

Faiq Zafar
February 2, 2024
“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing truly dies.” — Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

For Rehan Shamsi, 61, hope is a double-edged sword. A seasoned participant in Pakistan’s tumultuous political history, Rehan was but a 25-year-old engineering student in Karachi when the death knell sounded on General Ziaul Haq’s decade-long stint at the country’s helm.

Amid cheers of hope and merriment, Benazir Bhutto assumed the reins of power in the winter of 1988 — an event considered to be a critical inflection point in the country’s long, agonising crusade to democracy. It seemed the sun had finally dawned on a people downtrodden by decades of shattered promises and dead aspirations.

“I don’t think today’s generation understands the optimism that permeated the air in ’88. It was a genuine moment of hope. I know it sounds idealistic now, but you have to understand where we were,” reminisced Rehan. An active member of the National Students Federation and a worker of the Qaumi Mahaz-e-Azadi Party in the 80s, he vehemently believed in and campaigned for Benazir’s Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD).

 

[ghazi]

Lower-caste Hindus see greater presence​

About a dozen Hindus participating in elections from Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas divisions

Sameer Mandhro
February 02, 2024

KARACHI: Lower-caste Hindus in Pakistan are carving a niche for themselves in the political arena, boldly stepping into the electoral fray on general seats.

The surge in participation is particularly pronounced in the Mirpur Khas division, home to districts such as Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, and Tharparkar, where a majority population of non-Muslims, especially Hindus, resides

About a dozen Hindus are participating in elections from Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions, with a key focus on NA-215 Mithi, NA-213 Umerkot, and PS-45 Mirpurkhas. Notably, all three candidates in these constituencies are up against Muslim opponents.

In NA-215 Mithi, PPP’s Mahesh Kumar Malani, who secured victory in the general elections 2018, faces Arbab Ghulam Rahim, a prominent leader of the GDA and former chief minister of Sindh. Local analysts believe Malani, with Hindu voter dominance, is well-positioned to defeat his archrival.

"Malani is a public figure and knows how to maintain a strong connection with the masses," Sajid Bajeer, a journalist based in Mithi, said.In Mirpur Khas’s PS-45, Seth Hari Ram Kishori holds a favourable position despite contending against a Muslim candidate from an upper caste – Syed.

Lower-caste Hindus see greater presence | The Express Tribune

About a dozen Hindus participating in elections from Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas divisions

tribune.com.pk

 

[ghazi]

80 percent polling stations in Balochistan declared ‘sensitive’: minister​

Balochistan’s Interior Minister Zubair Jamali has said that over 80 per cent of polling stations in the province have been categorised as “sensitive,” with 34pc marked as “highly sensitive.”

Only 19pc of polling stations in Balochistan have been identified “normal”, the minister said in an interview with Dawn News programme “Doosra Rukh”.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Balochistan government has also barred political parties from holding rallies and corner meetings.

 

[ghazi]

ECP completes training of 1.49m officials for Feb 8 polls​

The Election Commission of Pakistan says it has completed the training of approximately 1.49 million electoral staff members for the successful conduct of Feb 8 general elections.

In a statement, the ECP spokesperson stated that a total of 27,676 training sessions, engaging 3,821 trainers, were conducted over a span of 87 days.

It said the commission trained approximately 5,000 officers and data entry operators (DEOs) through 148 training sessions before integrating them with the returning officers.

 

[ghazi]

K-P gearing up for an interesting election​

WISAL YOUSAFZAI
FEB 03, 2024

PTI seems to be the party to beat in the province, however its legal troubles will aid the likes of JUI-F
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2455372/k-p-gearing-up-for-an-interesting-election

 

[Old School]

It is going to be "General Selection 2024". It's not a general election in its true sense.

 

[ghazi]

Please don't laugh ..
.........

Will not rest until Pakistan becomes stable: Nawaz​

NEWS DESK
|
Ex-PM claims the country’s youth is with him and not with those who only create negativity on social media

 

[ghazi]

Nawaz wants to ‘rob’ people of their rights by forming ‘puppet’ govt: Bilawal​

PPP chairman claims to be only political leader seeking votes directly from people, rather than from 'elsewhere'

News Desk
February 03, 2024

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressing a rally in Tharparkar on February 3, 2024. PHOTO: PPP MEDIA CELL

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday accused former prime minister Nawaz Sharif of “robbing” people of their rights by attempting to form a “puppet” government, a term he extensively used against another former prime minister Imran Khan during his tenure as premier.