ISLAMABAD: The vote count was underway after Pakistan held by-elections in 21 national and provincial assembly constituencies on Sunday, Pakistani state media reported, amid suspension of mobile phone networks in parts of Punjab and Balochistan provinces.
The by-polls were the first major electoral exercise since the Feb. 8 national election in Pakistan, which were marred by a nationwide mobile network outage and result delays, leading to accusations that the vote was rigged and drawing concern from rights groups and foreign governments.
Polling began at 8am and continued till 5pm for five National Assembly seats, 12 Punjab Assembly seats, and two seats each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies. They were left vacant due to postponement of polls in Feb. or were vacated by lawmakers, who won multiple seats.
“The Election Commission of Pakistan has established the Election Monitoring Control Room at its secretariat in Islamabad to monitor the by-elections being held in different parts of the country,” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported, adding the control room would remain operational till the culmination of the exercise.
On Saturday, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), which regulates Internet in the country, said the decision to keep cellular services suspended in specific districts of Punjab and Balochistan on April 21-22 was taken on the directions of the interior ministry.
“This decision has been taken to safeguard the integrity and security of the electoral process,” the regulator said in a statement.
Reacting to the PTA’s announcement on Saturday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, said the suspension of mobile phone services in districts where by-polls were being held was “unconstitutional and illegal.”
“The Internet shutdown is unconstitutional, illegal and shameful, and a plan to rig the results,” it said.
The federal government authorized the deployment of civil armed forces and Pakistan Army to assist the ECP in peaceful conduct of by-polls.
In its code of conduct, the ECP asked troops not to respond on their own to “an apparent irregularity” outside a polling station and bring the matter to the knowledge of the presiding officer for any necessary legal action.
The security forces were also directed not to “interfere in the counting process in any manner” and perform their duty outside the polling stations diligently, so that the counting process could be completed in a peaceful manner.
Vote count underway after polling ends for Pakistan by-polls in 21 constituencies
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Vote count underway after polling ends for Pakistan by-polls in 21 constituencies
- The by-elections were held on seats vacated by candidates or in constituencies where election had been postponed in Feb.
- Polling began at 8am and continued till 5pm, with mobile services suspended in parts of Punjab and Balochistan provinces
Imran Khan gives Pakistan government until Dec. 22 to meet demands or face civil disobedience
- Demands include release of political prisoners, judicial commissions to investigate violence at protests
- Khan has been in jail since August 2023 on charges he says are motivated to keep him away from politics
ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said he would call on overseas Pakistanis, a large support base for the jailed leader, to stop sending remittances if the government did not implement his party’s demands by Dec. 22.
On Dec. 5, Khan, jailed since August 2023 on charges he says are politically motivated to keep him away from power, said in a message to supporters he was setting up a five-member negotiations committee to hold talks with the federal government for the release of political prisoners. He also demanded judicial commissions to investigate protests on May 9 last year and Nov. 26 this year in which the government says supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party partook in violence and caused vandalism.
“These are both legitimate demands, and if the government does not implement them by Sunday, the first phase of the civil disobedience movement, ‘boycott of remittances,’ will be launched,” Khan said in a message posted on his X.
“In this regard, we will appeal to Pakistanis living abroad that the situation in Pakistan is evident to you; democracy, the judiciary, and the media has been stifled, and a period of oppression and fascism is ongoing. Therefore, we urge you to start the boycott of remittances.”
Inflow of remittances clocked in at $30.3 billion in fiscal year 2023-24, 10.7 percent higher on a year-on-year basis compared to $27.3 billion in FY23, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan.
Khan said the PTI’s offer for negotiations was being projected as a sign of “surrender.”
“The offer for talks and delaying the civil disobedience movement was made in the broader national interest,” Khan said.
“If the government shows no interest, we will not force negotiations upon them. Our offer should never be seen as a sign of our weakness. If the government still wants to prevent the civil disobedience movement, they must contact us regarding our two demands or convince us that these demands are unconstitutional and cannot be addressed.”
Pressure on Khan’s PTI party, already at loggerheads with the government and military, has increased since last month when thousands of its supporters stormed Islamabad, demanding Khan’s release.
The government says protesters killed four security officers in clashes while the PTI says at least 12 of its supporters died and “hundreds” were injured and arrested as security agencies used live ammunition rounds to disperse protesters, which authorities deny. The Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government says it will take legal action against the rioters and bring to justice suspects behind what it has described as a “malicious campaign” to spread fake online news, images and video content against the state and security forces.
Previously, the government and military have accused Khan supporters of attacking and damaging government and military buildings, including the military’s GHQ headquarters in Rawalpindi, after his brief arrest on May 9, 2023. The PTI says at least ten of its supporters were killed as security forces opened fire at protesters.
Hundreds of PTI supporters and dozens of leaders were subsequently arrested while police registered cases against the party’s top leaders, including Khan. The army is also holding military trials of over a 100 people arrested in connection with the May riots.
On Thursday, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, key aides of Khan, were among 14 members of his party indicted in a case involving an attack last year on the military’s headquarters (GHQ).
Khan was himself indicted last Thursday on charges of inciting his supporters to attack GHQ on May 9.
Former foreign minister, serving chief minister among 14 indicted for attack on Pakistan army headquarter
- Imran Khan supporters accused of attacking GHQ, other military installations on May 9, 2023, following his brief arrest in land graft case
- Hundreds of PTI supporters and dozens of leaders were subsequently arrested while police registered cases against PTI party top leaders
ISLAMABAD: Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, key aides of jailed ex-premier Imran Khan, were among 14 members of his party indicted on Thursday in a case involving an attack last year on the military’s headquarters (GHQ).
The move comes after Khan was himself also indicted on Thursday on charges of inciting his supporters to attack GHQ on May 9, 2023, when Khan was arrested by the national anti-corruption agency in a land graft case. The arrest sparked a wave of protests by Khan supporters across the country, with rioters attacking important state buildings and ransacking military facilities, including the GHQ in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and the residence of the army’s top commander in the eastern city of Lahore.
Hundreds of supporters and dozens of leaders of Khan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were subsequently arrested while police registered cases against the party’s top leaders, including Khan.
Following Thursday’s indictment, Qureshi spoke to reporters outside Adiala Jail, saying he was being “targeted for political revenge.”
“I was in Karachi on May 9, not Rawalpindi,” Qureshi told reporters. “I say take mine and the prosecutor’s oaths on May 9 under Section 16 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.”
Besides Qureshi and Gandapur, Senate opposition leader Shibli Faraz, Shehryar Afridi, Kanwal Shauzab, Latasab Satti, Umar Tanveer Butt, Taimur Masood, Saad Ali Khan, Sikandar Zeb, Zohaib Afridi, Fahad Masood and Raja Nasir Mahfouz are other PTI members indicted today.
On Monday, former human rights minister Shireen Mazari and eight others were also arraigned in the GHQ case, in which a total of 113 PTI leaders and supporters have so far been indicted.
Following Thursday’s indictment, Gandapur, Afridi and Shauzab filed applications under Section 265-D of the Criminal Procedure Code, which deals with framing charges against an accused. A hearing on the applications has been scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, at the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Adiala Jail.
Should Gandapur appear in court tomorrow, his arrest warrant will be canceled, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper quoted the judge as saying.
After Monday’s indictments against Mazari and eight others, the PTI had said in a statement to reporters:
“It’s good that things are going toward indictment … As the case goes to trial, then it will come out whether these accused people are actually involved, and they will get a way to fight these false charges through the legal and judicial system. Up until now, people were just being kept in custody and things were lingering on for a year and a half.”
Nearly 2,000 people were arrested following the May 9 protests and at least eight were killed. The government had called in the army to help restore order.
Though Khan was released on bail within days of the May 9 arrest, he was later rearrested in August 2023 after he was handed a three-year prison sentence in another corruption case. He has been in jail since then.
His party was barred from Pakistan’s election on Feb. 8, 2024, but the would-be candidates stood as independents.
Despite the ban and Khan’s imprisonment for convictions on charges ranging from leaking state secrets to corruption, millions of the former cricketer’s supporters voted for him. Independent candidates from his party won the highest number of seats but not enough to form a government on their own. Khan cannot be part of any government while he remains in prison.
Khan and his party say all legal cases against him are based on made-up charges to keep him out of politics at the behest of the army after he had fallen out with the military’s generals. The army denies the accusation.
Pakistani PM condemns Israeli military actions at special D-8 session on Middle East conflict
- Shehbaz Sharif announces support for mediation efforts by Qatar and Egypt, calls for funding for war-torn regions
- More than 45,000 people including women and children have been killed during the 14-month war in Palestine
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday condemned Israel’s “unrelenting atrocities” in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria, applauding countries like Egypt and Qatar for leading international mediation efforts to end the war in the Middle East.
Sharif was speaking at a special session called during the Eleventh Summit of the D-8 group of developing nations, which is taking place in Cairo this week.
Health officials in the Gaza Strip have said the death toll from the 14-month war between Israel and Hamas has topped 45,000 people, with more than half of the fatalities being women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Israel has since launched attacks on Lebanon as well, killing over 3,000 after accusing Hezbollah of targeting its military. This month, it took control of Syria’s buffer zone and bombed key military and strategic assets after the overthrow of the Bashar Assad regime by opposition forces.
“Israel’s deliberate and inhumane targeting of the people of Gaza and Lebanon, with intensifying savagery has resulted in a relentless massacre that blatantly violates international law, UN resolutions and ICJ directives,” Sharif said in an address to the special session, referring to Israeli aggression in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria.
“Pakistan supports all international mediation efforts for an immediate ceasefire and for that, we deeply appreciate the efforts of Qatar and Egypt,” the PM added, calling for the provision of funding and aid for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and other war-torn areas.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions.
Islamabad does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and has for decades called for an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Pakistani ministry signs agreement with National Testing Service for selection of Hajj staff
- Pakistan selects hundreds of assistants via competitive process every year to facilitate local pilgrims
- Pakistan has received 82,000 applications for next year’s Hajj pilgrimage under government scheme
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani ministry of religious affairs has signed an agreement with the National Testing Service, which will hold exams for the selection of supervisors and assistants for next year’s Hajj pilgrimage, the ministry said on Thursday.
Pakistan selects hundreds of assistants and doctors from federal and provincial government departments via a competitive process every year to facilitate local pilgrims in performing the rituals of the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan had received 82,000 applications for next year’s Hajj under the government scheme by Tuesday when the submission deadline ended. Saudi Arabia has allotted Pakistan a quota of 179,210 pilgrims, to be divided equally between government and private schemes. The government extended the deadline for applications twice this month, first from Dec. 3 to Dec. 10, and then to Dec. 17, as it aims to fill over 89,000 seats under the federal government quota.
“Like last year, this year too, the selection of Hajj Assistants who will be sent on Hajj duty will be done through National Testing Service,” the religious affairs ministry said.
“According to the agreement, staff will be appointed on the basis of merit as per the federal and provincial quotas, in which a specific ratio of new and experienced assistants has been kept … Government employees and officers of Scale 7 to 18 will be eligible to apply.”
The ministry said it would “soon” announce the selection through an advertisement.
The ministry of religious affairs trains Hajj assistants and pilgrims every year ahead of their departure to Saudi Arabia to ensure all aspects of the pilgrimage process, including food, transportation, and accommodation in Makkah and Madinah, run smoothly.
Pakistan last year sent 550 Hajj assistants and 400 doctors and paramedical staff to Saudi Arabia to facilitate pilgrims.
Pakistani president calls for greater parliamentary cooperation with Saudi Arabia
- Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council is on three-day visit to Pakistan
- Council is legislative body that advises the king and his regulatory authority
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday met Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council, and discussed enhancing parliamentary cooperation and high-level exchanges with the Kingdom.
The chairman of the Shura Council, a legislative body that advises the king and his regulatory authority, is on a three-day visit to Pakistan, during which he has met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and others.
“President Zardari has emphasized the need for enhancing parliamentary cooperation and high-level exchanges with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to deepen the fraternal relationship between Pakistan and KSA,” the president’s office said in a press release on Thursday after he met the visiting dignitary.
“He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening economic, political, and cultural ties with KSA for the mutual benefit of both nations … both sides emphasized the need to transform the longstanding bilateral relationship into a more robust and strategic partnership.”
Zardari also expressed concern over the conflict in the Middle East, saying Pakistan stood in solidarity with “brothers and sisters” from Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are longtime allies, with Islamabad seeking closer economic, defense and security ties with the Kingdom, host to nearly 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates and the largest source of remittances for the cash-strapped South Asian nation.
