Imran Khan’s party begins protests against rigged polls, Islamabad imposes ban

Authorities imposed a gag order in Pakistan’s capital on Saturday as jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party began nationwide protests against alleged rigging and theft of its mandate in recent elections.

Opinion polls showed that independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won more than 90 seats in the National Assembly, becoming the largest group. PTI criticized this and announced “peaceful protests” across the country against the so-called “innovation”. Documented Protests.” High Rigging”.

The protests began with a march in Wana, South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The party decided to serve as an opposition party in parliament.

“PTI calls for nationwide protests against the unprecedented, massive and blatant rigging of the 2024 general elections, in which the 180 National Assembly seats and two-thirds majority in Parliament won by PTI were slashed to half,” the party said in a statement said in a statement.

“The 2024 elections will go down in the history of the country because of the scale of fraud,” PTI spokesman Raoof Hasan said.

Islamabad police said that Section 144 has come into force in the city and security agencies are on “high alert” as PTI is about to start nationwide protests, Dawn reported.

It did not mention the protests directly but said traffic near the F9 park was likely to increase and urged the public to avoid “non-essential journeys” on nearby routes.

Police said special forces from the counter-terrorism unit had deployed patrols to deal with any emergencies.

“Patrols have been stepped up across the district, as well as inspections at checkpoints,” the statement added.

Islamabad Police dug a trench near Lahore Press Club to stop PTI protests. A heavy police presence was deployed there to thwart the PTI protest.

Meanwhile, Punjab police cracked down on PTI leaders and workers in Lahore who were protesting against “massive rigging” in the elections.

Police arrested Imran Khan’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja and dozens of PTI women who gathered at Jail Road on the call of the jailed prime minister, Protest against massive electoral fraud that deprived PTI of at least more than 90 seats in the National Assembly.

A large number of police gathered outside the PTI office on Jail Road and attacked party workers with batons as they protested against the rigging. Television footage showed the police manhandling female PTI workers and bundling them into police vehicles.

Salman Akram Raja, a prominent lawyer and Khan’s lawyer, was also arrested.

Khan’s PTI is not the only party to express concerns about the February 8 polls, with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and other parties also complaining of rigging during the election . election.

Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IG) Dr Akbar Nasir Khan stressed that no one is allowed to assemble or protest at any public place in the federal capital.

Reports said additional troops of Punjab Rangers have been directed to deal with any unforeseen situation in the city.

Independent candidates – majority backed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party – won 93 of the 265 National Assembly seats contested in the February 8 election.

However, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) formed a post-poll alliance on Tuesday. , PTI’s two main rivals appear to be forming a coalition government.

PML-N won 75 seats, while the PPP came in third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) also agreed to support them with its 17 seats.

To form a government, a party must win 133 of the 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly.

Meanwhile, a rift has emerged between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s lawyers and the political leadership, with the latter wanting to negotiate with other parties to reach a political settlement and the former not wanting to do so, Geo News reported.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)