Pakistan elects its parliament in an election marred by violence and internet blackouts

There is a cloud of allegations of violence and fraud parliamentary elections in pakistan, in which 100 million citizens were called to vote and the result is no surprise. Surveys indicate that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s party will get the maximum votes. The leader of the Pakistan Muslim League party has the approval of the military, which is believed to run the country in the shadow. Sharif returned to Pakistan from self-exile just four months ago and still remains popular in the country’s most populous provinces, where his party has campaigned prominently infrastructure projects,

Voting day started under Intensive police deployment, after what 30 people died in two attacks happened on wednesday against the political headquarters in the Western Province of Balochistan, A few hours after the polling station opened Five police officers deployed to control the vote died in a bomb attack In Kulachi district in the north-west of the country. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the area is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, which has carried out several attacks on security forces.

more towards the north, Gunmen open fire on soldiers in Kot Azam cityReason death of a soldier, Six other members of the security forces were killed in attacks this Thursday, according to the military, which did not provide further details of the incidents.

On the other hand, in the province of BalochistanWhere the attacks took place on Wednesday, assailants unknown They threw grenades at two polling stationsWithout creating victims.

As voters headed to the polls Interior Ministry suspends mobile phone services, ensuring that the remedy responds to a security issue. “As a result of the recent terrorist incidents in the country, precious lives have been lost. Security measures are necessary to maintain law and order and deal with potential threats,” the ministry said in a statement.

Speaking to BBC, many voters complained of telephone blackouts They couldn’t order taxis Go to vote or coordinate with your families Find out which polling station they have to go to, Most political parties condemned the suspension of mobile services and described the move as an attempt to rig the electoral process.

Khan remained absent from these elections

The popular former prime minister’s party, Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI), said, “Manipulating the election results by blocking the flow of media and information is a cowardly move by those in power.” Imran Khan,

“This is not democracy, this This is tyranny in the guise of governance“, he said. Having been sidelined from politics due to several court cases, the former cricket star has been largely absent from these elections. He has recently been sentenced to between 10 and 14 years in prison and for a decade Has been disqualified.

Khan claims that his conviction is a conspiracy by Pakistani authorities and the United States to remove him from power. The former prime minister was ousted by a no-confidence motion in April 2022 and arrested a year later, a court decision that led to serious riots across the country, with followers protesting his imprisonment.

PTI condemned the election authority He did not allow other party leaders to come forward for the elections and assured that he faced censorship in the media during the campaign. On election day he announced that one of his observers had been kidnapped, information that could not be verified by independent media.

In an effort to avoid possible electoral fraud, Khan and his party’s supporters took to the streets during the counting of votes. Pro-Khan media assured that preliminary results showed victory for independent candidates aligned with his party.

The communications blackout was also criticized by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party, which was the only leader standing a chance to counter Nawaz Sharif’s party. Bhutto-Zardari is the son of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and although his party is Sharif’s traditional rival, they are expected to reach a government agreement.

Vote is also marked by low involvement, Analysts believe this is due to a number of factors, ranging from the political ineptitude of the most popular leader to distrust in institutions or insecurity due to attacks in the country, which led to more than 1,000 victims in 2023.