The Pakistan government announced that cellular services would remain temporarily suspended in specific districts of Punjab and Balochistan during the by-elections. It claimed that the request for suspension was made by the election commission.
Though the military chief did not name any political party, it was directed at jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has been alleging that the powerful establishment had supported the PML-N party to steal its mandate.
"Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will not make any difference. The condition of the people is deteriorating day by day and their problems will not be solved by this election. This is the continuity of the same status quo which has prevailed in the country from the beginning," said a local resident.
The oath ceremony was attended by Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and other PML-N workers. PPP’s Murad Ali Shah and Sarfaraz Bugti were also in attendance.
The PML-N president Shehbaz is the younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, 74, who sprang a surprise last month after being projected as the party's prime ministerial candidate ahead of the February 8.
Gohar on Thursday announced that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s next chairman nominee is Barrister Ali Zafar and that internal elections of the 71-year-old former-cricketer-turned-politician’s party are scheduled to take place on March 3.
Last week, former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha claimed 13 candidates from Rawalpindi were forcefully declared winners before resigning. Now he says the claims in that press conference were made at the behest of a senior PTI leader to boost their narrative.
Despite an Army-backed crackdown, Imran Khan's PTI-backed candidates won 93 seats in the elections marred by allegations of rigging and violence. Astonishingly, the PML-N was expected to win outrightly with the support of the military but lagged far behind the independents.
This comes as almost all PTI-backed independent candidates joined the right-wing Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) on Wednesday. PTI's previous intra-party elections were declared "unconstitutional" by the electoral watchdog and Pakistan's Supreme Court.
The PML-N and PPP joined hands to form Pakistan's federal government in 2008 and 2022. The leaders of these two parties - Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto- were locked in intense rivalries for power in the 1990s that ended with Nawaz's ouster by Pervez Musharraf.
The petitioner, who claims to be retired Pakistan Army officer, sought the elections to be declared null and void and the elections to be reconducted within 30 days. This came as the country witnessed widespread protests for alleged rigging in the February 8 elections.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf claimed that it won at least 180 seats, of which 85 were taken away, and said February 8 will be remembered as the "biggest voter fraud" in Pakistan's history. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Supreme Court will hear a petition on Monday seeking to declare the polls null and void.
Notably, the polls did not return a clear majority for anyone, but independent candidates backed by Imran Khan won 92 out of 264 seats making them the largest group. Khan ruled out alliances with the three largest parties, which means his candidate currently lacks the numbers to form a government.
PTI has approached other parties to join Saturday's protest against alleged rigging in last week's elections. Meanwhile, the party rejected to hold talks with PPP after reports emerged that Imran Khan softened his stance and was ready to hold talks with the Bilawal Bhutto-led party.
This comes after Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) agreed to form a coalition government with other parties. The PML-N on Tuesday nominated 72-year-old Shehbaz Sharif as the prime ministerial candidate instead of Nawaz.
Nawaz's PML-N was the largest party with 75 seats, while Imran Khan's PTI-backed candidates won the highest number of seats overall. Imran has ruled out forming a coalition with PML-N and PPP and will join hands with Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) to form the government.
Pakistan New PM: As the general elections in Pakistan concluded on February 8, discussions about government formation have intensified, particularly within the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
PTI-backed independent candidates dominated the elections by winning 93 out of 264 seats, although they can't technically form the government. A coalition seems inevitable even as the PML-N has already snared some of the independents as no parties have won the majority.
Pakistan election results: Party insiders say Nawaz isn’t suited to a coalition because of his temperament. His younger brother, Shehbaz, led a coalition after Khan was ousted from power and is regarded as more accommodating.
According to the report, PML-N would take the post of prime minister, and the posts of the President and Speaker would be set aside for its partners if an alliance is agreed upon.
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