Imran Khan's party claims victory in Pak elections; Sharif's PML-N makes counterclaim
Islamabad (PTI): Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's party on Friday claimed victory in the general elections while alleging that results were being delayed to rig the outcome.
In a statement, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party also asked PML-N's supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, who was the favourite to win as he was backed by the powerful Army, to concede defeat.
The PML-N, however, rejected the demand and claimed that it was winning Thursday's elections.
Votes are still being counted in Pakistan after Thursday's general election which was marred by allegations of rigging, sporadic violence and a countrywide mobile phone shutdown.
There were dozens of parties in the fray but the main contest was among Khan's PTI, whose candidates are running as independents, former three-time premier Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Bilawal Zardari Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
In a statement on X from the PTI official handle, the party stated that it won more than 150 NA seats out of 265 open for contest as per the data received in Form 45s, which are the primary source of election results at the lowest level and show the votes for each candidate at each polling station.
A party must win 133 seats out of 265 being contested to form the next government.
"Copies of these forms have been collected by PTI candidates' polling agents, which show them winning by a large majority. According to independent reports, PTI has won well over 150 National Assembly seats & is in a solid position to form government in Federal, Punjab & KP (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa), with a clear majority," it stated.
"However, manipulation of the results in the late hours of the night is an utter disgrace & a brazen theft of the nation's mandate. The people of Pakistan vehemently reject the rigged results. The world is watching," it asserted.
In another statement, PTI alleged that its mandate was being stolen.
"Let the world know that the clear and overwhelming mandate of the people of Pakistan is being stolen. Despite unprecedented pre-poll rigging & oppression, there was a record, massive turnout on polling day," it stated
The party said that every independent candidate backed by it was winning by a landslide.
It also said that Returning Officers are now manipulating the results using Form 47, which is a summary of Form 45 from each polling station.
"Furthermore, there are reports of the polling agents getting abducted & forced to sign fake Form 45s," it said.
It also referred to unspecified reports to claim that "PTI nominated candidates (were) losing suddenly in various constituencies now, after they had already won by a clear majority".
In another statement, the party asked Sharif to concede defeat.
"Show some grace @NawazSharifMNS, accept the defeat! The people of Pakistan will never accept you. This is a golden opportunity to regain some credibility as a Democrat. Daylight robbery is going to be rejected massively by Pakistan!" it said in a statement on X.
PML-N has countered the PTI claim about results and said that it was winning.
"Based on data compiled in PMLN Election Cell and results already in the public domain, PMLN has emerged as the single largest political party in the National Assembly and a clear majority party in Punjab Assembly," according to party leader Ishaq Dar.
He also said that "premature and biased speculations" must be avoided as the country awaits the official complete results from ECP.
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Congress leader Harish Rawat files FIR against BJP over 'misinformation' campaign against him
Dehradun (PTI) Senior Congress leader and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday filed a police complaint here against the alleged misinformation campaign being carried out against him by BJP on social media.
Rawat, who reached the Nehru Colony police station with his supporters, handed over a written complaint along with a pen drive and other evidence to the police.
Based on this, an FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 and relevant sections of law.
After filing the FIR, Rawat alleged that the police took four hours to register his complaint. He added that if it takes so long for a former CM to file an FIR, one can easily imagine the plight of a common man.
"Finally, after four hours, the police registered the FIR with trembling hands. Their hands were trembling because we have accused the BJP president and his associates, with factual evidence, of misusing AI to tarnish our and our party's image and trying to disrupt social harmony by targeting a particular community," Rawat said.
He expressed hope that after the registration of the FIR, the police would bring the culprits to justice.
Rawat also said, "Just imagine, if the police take so much time to register an FIR of a former CM, what will be the condition of a common man in this state?"
Later, he also handed over a copy of the FIR to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Dehradun and the SSP of the Special Task Force. Rawat also said that he would meet the District Magistrate of Dehradun and the State Election Officer with his complaint on Wednesday.
Recently, an AI-generated reel was uploaded on the official social media page of the BJP, which portrayed Rawat as a supporter of appeasement.
In the reel, a Congress leader is heard saying, "I take refuge in Muslims, I take refuge in dargahs (shrines), I take refuge in love jihad." The subsequent images show the construction of a dargah and some people smiling and talking about turning Devbhoomi (the land of gods) into a land of dargahs.
At the end of the reel, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is seen walking with police forces and bulldozers.
Rawat also claimed that another AI-generated video was uploaded from a 'fake' BJP platform, depicting him as a 'traitorous Pakistani agent' engaged in espionage. However, the BJP has denied any connection to this video.
