JAMMU: Three days of voting in two rounds of elections in Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) seem to have soured the relations between Pakistan Muslim League-N and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) very badly. So much so that PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has put the Federal government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on notice, saying its countdown has started.
Incidentally, the PML-N, which does not have a clear majority in the National Assembly, is the ruling party in Islamabad. However, it is in power with the help of the PPP which extends it support in the House from outside without having any ministers in the Shehbaz cabinet.
In a series of posts on X, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (@BbhuttoZardari) said in a mocking tone that the PML-N said: Yeh saaf elections nahin thay. Yeh dhandli elections thay. Yeh goli elections thay. Yeh qatil elections thay. Yeh khooni elections thay. (These were not clean free and fair elections. These were rigged elections. These were elections conducted under the threat of bullets. These were murderous elections. These were elections full of bloodshed.’’
In another post, he said: “Meray PML-Nawaz ke doston ke liyay jo paigham hai, who sirf itna. Kya wo awaaz aapko sunai de rahi hai? Zara gaur se sunein. Tick tock. Tick tock. Aapki ulti ginti shuru ho chuki hai. (I have only this message for my friends from PNL-Nawaz. Are you able to listen to the clock ticking for you (read Federal government). Tick tock. Tick tock. Reverse counting has started for you.)’’
Bilawal said that his campaign against the PML-N government will not remain limited to PoJK or Gilgit Baltistan or Punjab. He will take them right up to Islamabad, at the doorsteps of the PML-N government at the Federal level, according to a report of The Express Tribune.
These posts have been interpreted by different news organisations of Pakistan as the most direct veiled threat of withdrawal of support to the Sharif government in Islamabad. Without the support of the PPP, Shehbaz Sharif will truly be a lame duck PM lacking simple majority in the National Assembly. Even in the Senate, without PPP support, the Sharif government cannot get any laws passed. Or even ensure normal day to day functioning.
Meanwhile, polling ended in two constituencies on Tuesday, with the PPP once again stressing that the polls were heavily rigged. It said polling staff of carrying out various irregularities like abandoning a polling station and being caught “red-handed” with official polling bags and ballot papers at the residence of a PML-N supporter.
The PPP accused the Federal government of interfering in the elections through development announcements and misuse of official resources. In turn, the PML-N alleged the PPP was itself attempting to manipulate the vote, claiming ballot papers had been recovered from the residence of a rival candidate.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and her father Nawaz Sharif had campaigned in the PoJK capital some days ago promising electric buses as gifts for Muzaffarabad. Following up promptly next day, the Punjab government had sent several green coloured e buses to PoJK.
At the height of campaigning, when the Model Code of Conduct was already in place, this was a direct and brazen attempt to bribe PoJK voters. This incident had been ignored by the Election Commission with not even a reprimand being issued to the PML-N.
The elections so far have been overshadowed by allegations of electoral irregularities, with the PPP accusing the PML-N of rigging. It said the Election Commission had failed to ensure a transparent electoral process, allegations the PML-N rejected.
On Tuesday, the PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman also posted allegations of rigging on X, saying that the reports of the presence of polling staff at a PML-N supporter’s residence were concerning. She said videos related to “rigging by the PML-N” had been handed over to the Election Commission as evidence and demanded immediate disciplinary and legal action.
Tuesday’s polling was held in LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I (Kotla) and at 51 of the 115 polling stations in LA-28 Muzaffarabad-II (Lachhrat) after voting in those areas was postponed on Sunday, August 2. The official cause of the postponement was heavy rain and landslides preventing election staff and polling material from reaching many polling stations.
On Monday, a senior minister in Sindh Sharjeel Memon questioned the Election Commission’s decision to postpone polling in LA-27, saying weather had been cited as the reason despite clear conditions. “It appeared as though the Election Commission had become the B-team of the PML-N,” he said, adding that the AJK elections had repeated the pattern of the 2024 general elections.
In the February 2024 elections, there were widespread reports of electoral rigging mainly to keep out the independent candidates of Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Simultaneously, the security forces had allegedly propped up the PML-N candidates in a number of constituencies, both at the Federal and provincial levels.
This raising of the February 2024 elections has been interpreted as a direct warning to Shehbaz Sharif government, and his backers, the security forces, mainly the Pakistan Army. Memon had accused the federal government, the Election Commission and the PML-N of colluding to influence the Legislative Assembly elections currently underwar, alleging widespread irregularities and voter manipulation.
Addressing a press conference alongside PPP leader Chaudhry Yasin in Karachi, Sharjeel claimed there had been a coordinated effort to defeat PPP candidates. He said the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had repeatedly stressed the importance of holding transparent elections.
The senior minister alleged that the Election Commission had failed to act impartially during the electoral process and accused it of ignoring the party’s complaints.
