Pakistan election results 2024 live: Imran Khan's PTI calls for protest amid fears of fraud in inconclusive polls

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that “serious concerns” had been raised about the “fairness and lack of inclusiveness” in Pakistan’s parliamentary elections.

“The authorities must uphold basic human rights, including freedom of access to information and the rule of law,” Cameron said in a tweet on X, praising all voters.

He said in a statement: “We regret that not all parties were officially allowed to run in the elections, and that legal measures were used to prevent some political leaders from participating, and to prevent the use of well-known party symbols.”

The Secretary of State also cited restrictions on internet access on polling day, as well as delays in reporting results, and allegations of irregularities in the counting process.

He added: “The United Kingdom urges the authorities in Pakistan to respect fundamental human rights, including freedom of access to information and the rule of law.”

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will take his protracted legal battle to the high courts, his party said, after being convicted in two different cases just a week before the country's general elections.

Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced to 14 years in prison last week for illegally selling gifts worth more than £395,000 from the state exchequer, known as “toshakhana”, during his tenure as prime minister. They were also banned from holding public office for 10 years and were each fined around £2.2 million.

The former cricket star turned politician was also sentenced to another 10 years in prison the day before after being found guilty of revealing state secrets. He is already serving a three-year prison sentence for corruption.

PML-N official Ishaq Dar claimed that the party is in touch with the independents who are currently leading the counting process.

“Independents have contacted us and will join any party in the next 72 hours as per the constitution,” the former finance minister told Geo News today as results continued to trickle in.

He claimed that the PML-N is being contacted by independents who want to join their party.

Dar said that the PML-N cannot force anyone to join the party, adding that they are approached by candidates who want to join their party.

He added: “If independents do not join any political party, they will lose the seats allocated to them.” Independents are not even close to the success of the PML-N in Punjab.”

PTI chief Gohar Ali Khan said the party will not form any alliance with any other party to form the government if PTI-backed independents win the elections.

“We do not have any contact with the PPP or the PML-N,” he told Geo News and claimed that the PTI would not need to form any alliance as it is confident of winning the required number of seats to form a majority.

Meanwhile, PML-N leader Ishaq Dar claimed that independents who are currently leading in the polls are in touch with the party.

“Even if the PTI was declared the winner, the situation would be difficult, because its candidates would have had to run as independents,” analyst Michael Kugelman wrote on X. “It will need to make sure that these winning independents do not align with other parties. It will likely put pressure on them.” institution to do this.

“The elections were not fair and credible at all,” says writer Mehr Tarar. The Independent. “The situation here is grim and the internet suspension is unprecedented because it did not happen during the 2013 elections when terrorism was at its peak.”

Read the full article by Shweta Sharma here:

“I think it's just because [Imran] Just because Khan is in prison now doesn't mean he's finished. “His willingness and ability to reconcile with the military and his recent letters from his prison cell suggest he is not in the mood for reconciliation, but that may change,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center. The Independent.

“He could still have many more years of fruitful politics ahead of him,” Kugelman adds.

Meanwhile, PTI-backed candidates appear to be doing much better than expected in the Pakistani election vote count, according to forecasts, and maintain a significant lead ahead of Nawaz Sharif's favored party.

Just a few years ago, the former cricketer navigated Pakistan's turbulent political scene – and now faces 14 years behind bars. However, all was not lost for the man who made even the country's fearsome army fall in line, as Omar Warraich wrote:

Islamabad Police said they are enforcing Section 144 orders banning public gatherings in the Pakistani capital as election results continue to emerge.

“If any illegal action occurs, action will be taken,” police wrote on X. Respecting the law is a duty for everyone. Legal action will be taken if any inconvenience occurs.”

When it comes into effect, the Section 144 Order prohibits gatherings of four or more people. This section of the Pakistan Criminal Procedure Code also enables the district government to issue orders and/or prohibit any activity for a specified period of time in any district.

Police say the move is aimed at maintaining law and order once the results are out.

A February 8 Google Doodle shows a ballot box bearing a Pakistani flag with the vote for the next parliament posted:

Read the full article here:

With candidates backed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party leading shockingly, Maya Tudor, associate professor at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government, believes a win for candidates backed by the PTI would be great.

“A win would be great. The odds were stacked against Khan. The military used every tool at their disposal to weaken the power of the PTI, from banning their cricket bat symbol to shutting down the internet on voting day,” she was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

But even if the PTI-backed candidates manage to win, the road ahead is bumpy. A fragile economy, conflict on almost every border, and high inflation are what ordinary Pakistanis feel every day.

“If there is no clear winner, uncertainty will increase these problems.”