ISLAMABAD
Opposition parties on Sunday alleged the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government for “rigging” in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections.
Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Vice-President, Senator Sherry Rehman blamed the Centre for “systematic rigging” and said it was attempting to “steal” the elections.
The PPP leader alleged that PTI workers had fired at a PPP worker’s car during polling time, while police had uprooted a camp belonging to her party. “There is a clear difference between the voter lists of several polling stations […] PPP has submitted a written complaint to the AJK Election Commission,” she said.
On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb, in a statement, claimed that PTI “goons” had attacked her party’s workers in Gujranwala’s Alipur Chatha area to “rig” the election.
Aurangzeb said despite PTI workers beating up her party workers, the police “arrested those associated with PML-N”. “PTI has been allowed to engage in hooliganism with complete liberty,” she claimed.
The spokesperson alleged that AJK Election Commission officials refused to accept PML-N’s written complaints, saying they would accept them after permission from the chief election commissioner.
“Complaints of violence and rigging do not meet the criteria for a transparent election,” she added. Aurangzeb had earlier drawn attention to what she had termed as “irregularities” being reported from various constituencies.
“Complaints of polling agents being prevented from entering polling stations and closure of polling are increasing,” she said in a statement. She claimed that polling has been stalled for two hours at Girls Primary School Kangarhariwala, Union Council Komi Kot.
“Women voters are being treated insultingly,” she added and claimed that there are reports of votes being stamped inside the polling station with the help of staff. No polling agent was allowed to enter LA-32 Chakar, LA-33 Goharabad except that of PTI, she further claimed.
“The tactics of 2018 and Daska elections are being repeated openly,” Marriyum said, adding: “If any untoward situation arises then Imran sahib will be responsible,” she said.
