PPP, PTI, JUI-F, NP, BNP-M stage demonstration as wheeling and dealing underway to form unity government
islamabad
Protests are ongoing across three provinces in Pakistan — Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The PTI, JUI-F, PTI, and other political parties are staging protests in different cities against the results of the general elections 2024.
In Quetta, workers of National Party, Hazara Democratic Party and Balochistan National Party demonstrated outside the district returning officer’s office, while roads across the provincial capital, Chaman, Killa Saifullah, Loralai and Pishin were blocked due to the ongoing protests.
As a result, land communication of Balochistan with Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was cut off.
Meanwhile, PPP continued its sit-in in Naseerabad against the alleged polls rigging for the sixth day.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has staged a protest in Sindh’s Hyderabad city against alleged rigging in the February 8 nationwide elections.
The demonstration was organised outside the politico-party’s district secretariat at Shehbaz building. The protesters demanded the issuance of notification for ‘victorious candidates’ on PS-9, PS-22 and NA-191 seats.
ANP has announced kicking off its nationwide protests against alleged alteration in the general election results from February 20.
The party, which failed to win any National Assembly seat and only secured two Balochistan Assembly seats and one KP provincial seat, will start its protests from Swabi district which will be followed by another demonstration on February 23 in Charsadda.
Javed Akhtar was not a winning candidate in the general elections 2024
On February 11, 2024, a video message of politician Javed Akhtar circulated on social media platform X with the claim that he was forcibly made to win the general elections and refused to accept this.
The caption quoted him as saying: “I have been forced to win. my opponent Sardar Farhat (PTI) had won. Defeating the winner is an insult to the people’s mandate.”
“Independent candidate Javed Lund refuses to take fake mandate. Condemns rigging, congratulates PTI candidate,” the caption further said but did not mention which constituency Akhtar has supposedly won from.
However, Javed did not say this nor did he win in the constituencies he was contesting.
PTI’s Jhagra claims rigging in Feb 8 polls ‘unprecedented’
PTI leader Taimur Khan Jhagra has claimed that “unprecedented rigging” took place in the Feb 8 polls.
“Specifically in Peshawar, I keep on saying that that the blatant falsification of results on 8 seats has been done in a way that cannot be hidden,” he wrote in a post on X.
Jhagra also expressed surprise that JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman and ANP’s Aimal Wali would “vouch for the rigging done on my seat”.
Beyond the polls
Beyond the tall claims politicians made during their election campaigns lie tough ground realities that public representatives now have to face. During their campaigns, some politicians promised to offer 300 free units to poor households. Others assured their supporters that they would build millions of houses.
PML-N leaders acted like modern monarchs, asking their courtiers what they wanted and declaring then and there that their wishes would be fulfilled. From airports, universities and medical colleges to roads, everything was promised.
