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PML-N rides the tide as by-PoLL resuLts triCkLe iN
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Monday, 22 April, 2024 I |13 Shawwal, 1445
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ELECTION MARRED BY CLASHES BETWEEN PML-N, PTI WORKERS
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ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
ISLAMABAD President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi will arrive here on Monday on an official visit from April 22 to 24. During the visit, President Raisi
Police doing what it knows best, intimidating and bullying citizens out to exercise their vote,” she said in a post on her X account. The alleged rigging, she said, proved that the government has “already lost against a man they’ve locked up for 34 years on bogus charges and they’re petrified” because the nation stood with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan. Counting of votes was underway late Sunday night amid allegations of massive election rigging by PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) candidates. Earlier, polling for 21 national and
provincial assembly seats concluded a 5pm on Sunday with strict security arrangements
ISLAMABAD
have validated the fact that the people of Pakistan firmly believe in the leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and they fully welcome the people-friendly policies of its government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” said the minister in a video message on the by-polls held in multiple constituencies. He said the economic reforms implemented by PM Shehbaz Sharif and his team had given a hope to the masses who shown their trust in the government by voting the PML-N that had kicked off the journey of
economic stability in the country by curbing inflation and increasing foreign reserves. On the other hand, the minister said the people had rejected the false and misleading narrative of the PTI whose leadership was allegedly conspiring against the country from behind the bars to achieve their ulterior motives. “They are issuing statements from jails that seriously damage credibility of Pakistan at international level,” he said, adding the anti-state narrative was further pushed through such false statements.
People rejected PTI’s narrative of falsehood: Atta Tarar STAFF REPORT
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Sunday called the victory of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as a manifestation of the people’s trust in the people-friendly policies of the government and a clear rejection of the narrative of falsehood worked out by the leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from behind the bars. “Preliminary results of today’s by-polls
will meet the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Chairman Senate and Speaker, National Assembly. He will also visit Lahore and Karachi and meet with the provincial leadership. “The Iranian President will be accompanied by his spouse and a
high-level delegation comprising the Foreign Minister and other members of the cabinet, senior officials as well as a large business delegation,” Foreign Office Spokesperson, said in a press release, on Sunday. This will be the first visit by any Head of State to Pakistan after the general elections in February. The two sides will have a wide-ranging agenda to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran ties and enhance cooperation in diverse fields including trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, and people-to-people contacts. They will also discuss regional and global developments and bilateral cooperation to combat the common threat of terrorism. “Pakistan and Iran enjoy strong bilateral ties anchored in history, culture and religion. This visit provides an important opportunity to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran relations,” it was added.
action against the perpetrators. At the behest of several candidates and the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, the Election Commission has promptly sought a report from the Provincial Election Commissioner Balochistan and Deputy Commissioner Killa Abdullah regarding the reported abduction of polling staff in constituency PB-50 Killa Abdullah. The DC of Kila Abdullah verbally stated that no abduction of
polling staff occurred. The Election Commission requested a written report from him regarding this matter, to facilitate a proper decision on the aforementioned applications. The Chief Election Commissioner reached out to District Police Officer Narwal via phone to request a report on the death of a person near polling station PP-54, Narowal, and directed strict action against those accountable.
Candidates must ensure Form 45 collection from presiding officers: CEC ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja said that the candidates participating in the bye-elections must ensure their polling agents collect Form 45 from the presiding officers before departing from the polling stations. He instructed the supervising officers to ensure that Form 45 is handed over to all polling agents at polling stations. Sikandar Sultan Raja communicated with the chief secretaries of all four provinces to obtain reports on the day-long election process, inquiring about electioneering activities. He emphasized that any laxity in ensuring the smooth conduct of the entire exercise would not be tolerated. He also reached out to regional deputy commissioners and commissioners overseeing sensitive polling station areas, instructing them to guarantee transparent elections. Meanwhile, the CEC has sought a report from the Inspector General of Police Balochistan regarding the intrusion of armed individuals into the polling station of PB-50 Killa Abdullah and instructed for strict
Though by-polls in 21 national and provincial assemblies constituencies in across country mostly remained peaceful but there have been reports of violence due to allegations of massive vote fraud and violation of election rules. According to Election Commission of Pakistan, the polling was held on five National Assembly seats, twelve Punjab Assembly seats, two seats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and two seats of Balochistan Assembly. In Zafarwal, Punjab, at least one died in clashes between Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) workers in PP-54 byelections. As per details, the police officials said that the deceased was identified as 60year-old Muhammad Yousuf, a PML-N worker. Following the tragic incident, the police took the dead body into custody for further investigation. Later the police said
complete booklets of “fake votes” were found in Gujarat. “They didn’t even bother to separate individual voter slips from its book to make it look genuine,” he said in a post on X. In a separate post, he accused a “section of the media” of “running fake results” on TV. Another PTI leader Meher Bano Qureshi said that by-elections were “more brazen, more shameless and more of a farce” than the February 8 elections. “Polling stalled, stations closed, ballots stuffed, fake form 45s prepared and Punjab
Iranian President Raisi arrives today
STAFF REPORT
PTI PROTESTS AGAINST ‘RECORD VOTE FRAUD’ BY RULING PARTY
By-elections violence claims one life, leaves many injured, scores arrested
ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
ANDIDATES fielded by the ruling Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) have taken lead in the unofficial results emerged in the by-polls held on nearly two dozen national and provincial seats on Sunday, as per unofficial and preliminary results. Following the swearing-in of the new assemblies, Pakistan’s first by-elections on 21 vacant national and provincial assembly seats were held amid sporadic incidents of clashes between workers of different political parties in Punjab. Major political parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) participated in the by-polls. The voting on the by-polls, conducted after the February 8 general elections, started at 8am and concluded at 5pm today. During the polling process, the federal government suspended mobile phone services temporarily in several districts of Punjab and Balochistan in a decision that was taken to safeguard the integrity and security of the electoral process. PTI protests against ‘record vote fraud’ PTI Chairman Gohar Khan said that “rigging records were broken throughout the day”. In a post on X, the party said that several party leaders, including Gohar and opposition leader Omer Ayub were stopped by police in Gujarat when they tried to meet the returning officer. “The media is also not being allowed to enter the office of the returning officer,” Gohar was quoted as saying. From the outset of polling, PTI claimed that the process was rigged, saying that “stuffed ballot boxes” were found in PP-32 Gujarat. PTI President Parvez Elahi’s son Moonis Elahi said boxes had been stuffed before polling even started in Gujarat, adding that the Malkowal polling station had been closed so further ballot boxes could be stuffed. PTI leader Hammad Azhar claimed that
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it had arrested nine accused for the death of the PML-N worker. Reacting to the incident, the Punjab Election Commissioner’s spokesperson said that the polling continued uninterrupted despite the incident as it occurred 200 meters away from the polling station. Election Commissioner Punjab, Ejaz Anwar Chohan, urged political parties to remain tolerant and appealed to workers to refrain from violence. PTI former MPA Shabbir Gujjar arrested from Lahore A former Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab (MPA) of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Shabbir Gujjar was arrested from the Lahore constituency PP164 on Sunday. Lahore police arrested him to maintain law and order during the by-election in the constituency PP-164 where the polling process. The Police also claimed that the PTI’s former MPA Shabbir Gujjar has been detained as he was nominated in many cases.
made by the federal government to ensure a smooth voting process. The government approved the deployment of the civil armed forces and Pakistan Army troops during the polling process. The civil armed forces and army troops were on standby to provide second and third-tier security respectively on the polling day. A clash between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers in Narowal’s PP-54 constituency resulted in the death of a PML-N worker. Muhammad Yousaf, aged 60, lost his life after being struck on the head with a stick during the fight. Despite being taken to a local hospital, he succumbed to his injuries. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar strongly condemned the incident.
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