Tag: feb 8

  • Donald Lu expresses concerns over Feb 8 election irregularities

    Donald Lu expresses concerns over Feb 8 election irregularities

    Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu has pointed out irregularities in the Feb 8 polls and said that the United States (US) is committed to making Pakistani democratic institutions stronger, Geo reported on Wednesday.

    Lu will attend a Congressional panel hearing about Pakistan today.

    The hearing titled ‘Pakistan after the Elections: Examining the Future of Democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan Relationship,’ has been announced by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, where the assistant secretary will be a key witness.

    Donald Lu submitted his testimony on Tuesday to the Subcommittee, in which he pointed out a number of issues between the two countries and how US policy will look in Pakistan in the future.

    He mentioned that the State Department had issued a clear statement the day after the general elections in Pakistan last month, noting undue restrictions on the freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

    He also said that the State Department issued a statement on the next day of polls last month, and it was clearly mentioned in the statement that there were restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

  • PTI’s “Baingan Campaign” is ruling Twitter like no other

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has always remained ahead of others when it comes to the use of social media in Pakistan’s political landscape. As for elections 2024, the party has not been given one symbol, in fact, candidates have different symbols now. Making the best of bad circumstances, the party has come up with entertaining campaigns that are enthralling Twitter (now X).

    Baingan (desi name for eggplant) is ruling the internet, surpassing all levels of creativity with this campaign. The symbol has been allotted to Alamgir Khan in Karachi and Amir Mughal from Islamabad. The constituency of the former is NA 236 and that of the latter is NA 46.

    The chant they have invented is “Ab zulm ka badla baingan se, ab sitam ka badla baingan se.”

    The candidates have designed posters of an eggplant in varying ways. Alamgir Khan shared a video of an Indian animated film of a farmer and his wife getting rich by cultivating eggplant in their farm. That has people in fits.

    Alamgir also posted a funny video from a Bollywood film where he showed how the opposition (previously PDM) was seen beaten up by PTI.

    Amir Mughal also posted about how baingan will be seen everywhere as he posted a picture of a baingan being placed among flowers.

    An internet user even used a clip of the army chief along with ex-Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to promote Baingan.

    Another user showed his appreciation for baingan by making it a part of his salad with PTI engraved in it.

    Netizens used a clip of the Pakistani drama where a mother was telling her daughter about the benefits of baingan from making the skin glow to bone strength.

    Arsalan Khan, a twitter user, incorporated all the symbols including vegetables in a video of a man relating his recipe of making eggplants.

    A user even shared the picture of a baingan and rhymed his chant as, Baingan stands tall, a symbol for all.

    Twitter is enjoying the new trend of #voteforbaingan as a user commented: “I bet they’re regretting giving him the baingan symbol. This is hilarious.”

    A user even tagged Alamgir Khan and said he better has a feast of dishes having baingan at his constituency.