As the general elections are over and results tabulated, 27 women candidates have emerged victorious in the February 8 polls, 11 more than in the 2018 elections.
This time, 882 women candidates contested for national and provincial assembly seats. Among them, 312 women contested for the NA, and 570 for provincial assemblies. This shows a notable rise in the number of women participating as candidates in the 2024 elections.
111 political parties had nominated 275 women candidates to contest the elections for general seats, making up 4.6 percent of the total of 6,037 candidates they have fielded.
In 2018, 183 women ran for seats in the National Assembly (NA), but only eight of them managed to win. Among the winning women, four secured seats in Sindh, three in Punjab, and one in Balochistan. None of the women candidates won a general seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
This time a record 27 women have been elected from all five assemblies — 12 from NA, 11 Punjab Assembly, two from the Sindh Assembly, and one from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
In a recent press conference, interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar strongly defended the delay in announcing election results, citing security concerns as the primary reason.
He was asked during the press conference by a journalist, “Probably this is your last press conference, on a lighter note: who told you how long you’ll be Caretaker Prime Minister?”
To this PM Kakar said, “I am disappointed after giving you a chance. Do I have cancer? As this is my last press conference according to you.”
While discussing the disruption in mobile services, Kakar emphasized, it was a necessary measure to ensure the safety of voters and prevent terrorist attacks.
“We could afford delay, but terrorist attacks, we could not […] delay does not mean rigging,” Kakar, whose government was appointed to oversee the country through elections until an elected set-up takes charge, said during a post-election press conference.
Kakar’s remarks came amidst mounting criticism from various political parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), who protested the delay in election results, labeling it as potential rigging.
More than three days have passed since polling day and the complete election results are still pending, with one seat yet to be decided.
The prime minister informed journalists that in 2018, the entire result-gathering process took 66 hours; however, in 2024, it was completed in 36 hours. The official Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) deadline is around nine hours.
The premier compared Pakistan’s election process to that of other countries, citing instances of delayed results in Sweden and Indonesia, suggesting that such delays are not uncommon in large-scale elections.
In response to criticism from foreign governments, Kakar asserted that Pakistan would conduct its investigation if necessary, rather than succumbing to external pressures.
“These friendly countries, unfortunately, frame their initial assessment on the fabricated and fractured information available on social media and the digital space,” he said.
“A responsible government should take time and then have a position; that would have been better. If we have to investigate, we will not do it on the demand of the United States, United Kingdom, or the EU,” he further added.
Kakar noted that Pakistan has its law and will deal with it accordingly. “We did not ask a judicial inquiry on Capitol Hill riots. It is not for us to demand it and it is not for them. For me, the demand of a PTI individual than the US, UK, and EU combined.”
Acknowledging the possibility of irregularities, Kakar assured that appropriate forums were available for addressing complaints.
To a question, PM Kakar said that the upcoming elected parliament would decide about the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the elections. “There should be an open discussion on EVMS.”
Two days back, expressing his annoyance over the delayed election results, President Dr Arif Alvi had said that the country would have been spared the ongoing crisis if the EVMs had been used during the February 8 general elections.
Remember ‘our’ long struggle for Electronic Voting Machines. EVM had paper ballots that could be counted separately by hand (like it is being done today) BUT it also had a simple electronic calculator/counter of each vote button pressed. Totals of every candidate would have been…
It is pertinent to mention here that the ECP’s new Election Management System (EMS) fell flat despite the commission’s tall claims. Taking to his X handle, the president had said: “Had EVMs been there today, my dear beloved Pakistan would have been spared this crisis.”
We realise that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart Rana Sanaullah’s loss in February 8 general elections must be quite a shock but his Twitter (now X) account has gone off in an unexpected direction.
Unlike PML-N leader Khwaja Saad Rafique, who used his account to gracefully concede defeat and congratulate his opponent Sardar Latif Khosa, Rana Sanaullah has decided that he wants to troll journalists.
The account has, till now, picked a Twitter fight with Meher Bokhari, shared a song by the late Indian rapper Sidhu Mosewalla, and targeted legal analyst Reema Omer for praising Geo’s election coverage.
It has also sent snarky replies to Hamid Mir and Gharidah Farouqi, while also tweeting multiple times against media channels.
Rana Sanaullah has distanced himself from the the account, telling Geo’s Shehzad Iqbal that he doesn’t run the account, instead a team runs it.
I mean, a few people who are self-proclaimed seniors or somehow manage to sit left or right and have zero credibility are using different platforms to manipulate audiences, misleading people every time because of personal agendas, and ignoring the crucial time period. And yet… pic.twitter.com/6dtnjKhc6l
رانا ثنااللہ اور مسلم لیگ ن کے اکاؤنٹ سے جیو پر الزامات
رانا ثنااللہ کا اپنے ہی اکاؤنٹ کو نہ ماننے پر اسرار مگر رانا ثناللہ اپنے ذاتی اکاونٹ سے اسی اکاونٹس کے ٹوئٹس کو ری پوسٹ کرتے رہے ہیں جسے وہ لاتعلقی کا اظہار کر رہے ہیں
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have discussed the possibility of their parties appointing prime ministers for half of a five-year term as part of a power-sharing plan.
The idea of appointing a prime minister for half the term was discussed during their first huddle on Sunday following the February 8 elections as part of their efforts to form a coalition government in the Centre and provinces, according to sources privy to the development.
In 2013, PML-N and the National Party (NP) in Balochistan worked together to create a power-sharing plan. Under this plan, two chief ministers from the two parties took turns holding office for half of the five-year term.
In Sunday’s meeting, the PPP and PML-N agreed to work together for the political stability of Pakistan after the general elections.
Pakistan has weeks of political uncertainty ahead following its indecisive election, analysts said Monday, with dozens of constituency results facing challenges in court and rival parties negotiating possible coalitions.
Independent candidates loyal to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan took most of the seats in Thursday’s polls, scuppering the chances of the army-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) from securing a ruling majority.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) defied a months-long crackdown that crippled campaigning and forced candidates to run as independents to emerge as the winners of the vote.
There were widespread allegations of vote-rigging and result manipulation after authorities switched off the nation’s mobile phone network on election day, ostensibly on security grounds, and the count dragged on for more than 24 hours.
“Three potential challenges are linked to the legitimacy of the elections through prolonged legal proceedings, protests and potential for violence,” said Pakistan-based political analyst Amber Rahim Shamsi.
Despite independents winning 101 seats in the national assembly, a government can only be formed by a recognised party, or coalition of parties, so they would have to join another group to become an effective bloc.
Desperately needed reforms
A coalition between the PML-N and the Pakistan People’s Party — who formed the last government after ousting Khan with a vote of no confidence in April 2022 — still seems a most likely outcome.
“In the short-term, any coalition birthed through a highly controversial election in a highly charged political environment will find it challenging to enact unpopular reforms that Pakistan desperately needs,” Shamsi told AFP.
At least half a dozen minor parties won just one or two seats in the election, and would welcome the addition of the independents to their ranks.
That would give them access to an additional 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities and allocated according to election results — although it has never been done on this scale before and faces legal challenges.
“The courts have a very delicate role at this moment,” said legal expert Osama Malik.
“They will (also) need to decide whether to order recounts in various constituencies. However, recounts in multiple constituencies could also delay the calling of parliament so the courts have to be wary of that as well.”
PTI leaders insist they have been given a “people’s mandate” to form the next government.
“The people have decided in favour of Imran Khan,” party chairman Gohar Ali Khan said at the weekend, before urging party supporters to picket election offices where he said rigging had taken place.
The potential for violent protest is ever present in Pakistan and police fired tear gas to disperse PTI supporters on Sunday after vowing to crack down hard on illegal gatherings.
Hundreds of party leaders and supporters were picked up last year when Khan was hit with more than 150 criminal cases he says were trumped up by the military-led establishment to stop him from contesting the election.
Earlier this month he was sentenced to lengthy jail terms after being found guilty of treason, graft and having an un-Islamic marriage.
Defections common
But disgrace rarely lasts long in Pakistan politics — the PML-N’s three-time premier Nawaz Sharif was himself sentenced to lengthy jail terms and exile abroad, only to have the convictions quashed when his party’s fortunes improved.
Dozens of constituencies will have to have by-elections even without the results being challenged.
Several candidates won in multiple constituencies — a quirk allowed under Pakistan law — so they will have to choose one and have fresh elections in the others.
And party defections are also common, with at least two winning independents who pledged loyalty to Khan before the election already announcing they were joining the PML-N.
More are expected to follow.
Whatever the outcome, the next government faces myriad challenges.
Deeply in debt, the economy has for decades been propped up by successive bailouts from the International Monetary Fund and loans from wealthy gulf Arab nations that use Pakistanis as cheap labour.
Inflation is galloping at nearly 30 percent, the rupee has been in freefall for three years — losing nearly 50 percent of its value since 2021 — and a balance of payments deficit has frozen imports, severely hampering industrial growth.
“No government will have the luxury of time and political security after these elections,” said Shamsi.
“There are also fears that this political insecurity will continue until the next elections, which could be earlier than five years.”
Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) has secured the required majority in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to form its government for the third consecutive time in the province with the party’s provincial president, Ali Amin Gandapur, likely to become the chief minister.
The possibility of Gandapur becoming the Premier of the province has triggered severe backlash on social media.
On November 8, 2017, then PTI MNA Dawar Khan Kundi, wrote a letter to then-chairman PTI Imran Khan about an incident that took place in Dera Ismail Khan, the constituency of Ali Amin Gandapur.
A young orphan girl was stripped and then paraded naked in a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa village after her brother allegedly held a pre-marital affair with somebody. During the incident, nobody helped or sheltered the girl.
As per Dawar, the logistics and physical support to the criminals who stripped the young girl were all provided by PTI Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. In a letter written to PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Kundi wrote, “I visited the family a week before and they asked, in fact, requested, me to make sure that Ali Amin Gandapur, Revenue minister K-P, may be forced and asked to withdraw his support from the criminals,”
The letter further stated, “The notorious activities of Ali Amin Gandapur are a source of providing a bad name to the party as a whole,” Dawar wrote. “You must ask CM K-P Parvez Khattak to remove Gandapur from his ministerial portfolio and ask forgiveness from the bereaved family.”
Dawar Khan Kundi concluded his letter to Imran Khan by saying, “It is the time that PTI should stand with that orphan girl and provide justice to her as soon as possible.” However Ali Amin Gandapur has vowed he had nothing to do with the incident, saying that if charges of his involvement are proved, he was ready to be hanged till death.
Amid this, people are not happy with Ali Amin Gandapur being Chief Minister.
X (former Twitter) user @faraz_lhr wrote, “In 2017, Gundapur facilitated suspects involved in stripping a girl naked. Later a jirga forced the victim family to reconcile. Last month, the 5 suspects were shot dead.”
In 2017, Gundapur facilitated suspects involved in stripping a girl naked. Later a jirga forced the victim family to reconcile. Last month, the 5 suspects were shot dead https://t.co/qeWlwIrBF3
User Crucifiedrantsuser wrote, “If Ali Amin Gandapur can be CM KP than why not PMLN in Center. If it’s all about morals Then where are the morals. How pti will defend Ali Amin n we couldn’t defend pmln?What media sells isn’t right. For me media has no credibility after this. How they projected things is absurd.”
If Ali Amin Gandapur can be CM KP than why not PMLN in Center. If it’s all about morals Then where are the morals. How pti will defend Ali Amin n we couldn’t defend pmln?What media sells isn’t right. For me media has no credibility after this. How they projected things is absurd
User @AmmarRashidT user wrote, “Can’t think of a better way to demonstrate you’re the non-dynastic non-traditional party that can deliver competent governance than by appointing a thuggish dynast with a disturbingly violent past to the most important position in the province you govern.”
Can’t think of a better way to demonstrate you’re the non-dynastic non-traditional party that can deliver competent governance than by appointing a thuggish dynast with a disturbingly violent past to the most important position in the province you govern. https://t.co/YOvr2BftAe
User @vanillasky458 wrote, “Haven’t heard anything on this from a PTI official, but Gandapur should not be CM. PTI did not get go through this fight only to make mistakes we’ve called out other parties for. Hope Jhagra wins his seat, no better choice than him.”
Haven’t heard anything on this from a PTI official, but Gandapur should not be CM. PTI did not get go through this fight only to make mistakes we’ve called out other parties for. Hope Jhagra wins his seat, no better choice than him. https://t.co/b09CyTRLPf
Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Dr Firdous Ashiq has finally offered an explanation for a viral video in which she can be seen slapping a police officer on the night of general elections.
Awan said that she slapped a police officer as the person in uniform was facilitating one political party on election day. The IPP leader also said that if the law does not take its course, then citizens will teach corrupt police officers a lesson.
The video was widely slammed on social media, with users calling out the IPP leader for resorting to violence.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, who run the single JI seat in the Sindh Assembly, announced on Monday that he was leaving the seat. ‘We don’t want a charity seat,’ he said, speaking about his PS-129 Karachi constituency. Analysts, after finding out about Rehman’s decision, termed it as ‘not a good idea’, saying that Rehman was enough for the Sindh Assembly and he was the choice of the voter and he should not have left after being elected. The Pakistan Peoples Party is leading in the Sindh Assembly with 84 seats, MQM at 28 and Independents at 11. One seat is yet to be announced.
PTI will form a government in centre, says Barrister Gohar Khan
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) acting chairman, Barrister Gohar Khan, has said that PTI will form the government in the centre. He also said that PTI-backed candidates are leading in the 2024 election, adding that according to Form 45 received by the party, PTI-supported candidates have won 170 National Assembly seats so far.
He rejected the possibility of accepting PML-N head Nawaz Sharif’s offer to all parties to get together to form a government.
MQM wants Shehbaz to come to Karachi to ‘manao’ them
Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Khalid Maqbool Siddique has asked former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif to come to Karachi to discuss the post-election situation and the possibility of forming a coalition. According to the results of the 2024 elections, MQM-P has won 17 National Assembly (NA) seats, making it an important stakeholder in forming a government.
Not in touch with the PTI Independents, waiting for all votes to be counted: Bilawal BhuttoPakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal avoided questions about forming an alliance with the PMLN or PTI-backed Independents, hinting that it isn’t going to be an easy process to make a PDM.
The former Foreign Minister avoided questions about forming an alliance with the PMLN or PTI-backed Independents, hinting that it isn’t going to be an easy process to make a PDM version 2.0.
Bilawal Bhutto said that the PPP is not in touch with the PTI-backed candidates but is waiting for all election results before it takes any decision, adding that PPP is not in the position right now to announce anything.
The PPP chairman said that it is also important to see what independent candidates decide before making any major decision.
PTI has not decided who will be its candidate for Prime Minister, although it should be Khan: Waleed IqbalPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Waleed Iqbal said, while talking to Geo News that PTI has not yet finalised its candidate for Prime Minister. He also said that, while he believes the candidate should be Imran Khan, the decision will be taken after consulting with the former prime minister.
However, Khan cannot be a candidate for Prime Minister since he has been disqualified, did not run for election, and is currently serving a jail sentence in three cases.
MQM heading to Lahore to meet NawazMuttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) delegation is heading to Lahore on the invitation of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for a post-election meeting.
The delegation includes Governor Sindh Kamran Khan Tessori, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, and Farooq Sattar.
Earlier, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari also met Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore.
On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mariam Aurangzeb said that PML-N has no intention to talk to PTI-backed candidates to form a government.
Imran Khan’s sons, Kasim and Suleiman Khan, had urged people to vote in the 2024 general elections in Pakistan, held on February 8. They shared their message on Twitter, asking everyone to vote and get their friends and family to do the same. The two posted a picture holding the PTI flag and said, “Tomorrow is a big day for Pakistan. Your vote is important because it is your future.” They asked people to make a video saying they voted for PTI and share it on social media with #votePTI. Their tweet quickly became popular online, showing how their message resonated with many. By encouraging people to support PTI, they hope to make a difference in the upcoming elections and remind everyone of the importance of voting in democracy.
کل پاکستان کے لیے بہت بڑا دن ہے۔ آپ کا ووٹ اہم ہے کیونکہ یہ آپ کامستقبل ہے۔ براہ کرم ووٹ ڈالنے کے بعد ایک ویڈیوں بنائیں “میں نے پی ٹی آئ کو ووٹ دیا” اور ویڈیوں یا تصویرسوشل میڈیا پر ڈال دیں۔ پاکستان زندہ باد #votePTI!
