Victory of PTI-backed candidates: Iftikhar sees reaction to Imran’s sentencing

NOWSHERA: Awami National Party (ANP) leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Saturday said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa voted for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidates in reaction to the back-to-back court sentences handed down to incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan.

Speaking at a press conference, he said the Pakistan People’s Party retained its grip on Sindh, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Punjab while the people of KP voted for the PTI for the third consecutive term.

He remarked that though the results could have been changed in favour of the independent candidates, his party had no proof of rigging. He said it was surprising that the independent candidates launched their election campaign only a few days before the election, but they managed to emerge victorious. He said that the victory of the PTI-backed candidates had surprised many people as political heavyweights lost the election to little-known contenders.

Mian Iftikhar, who contested the election for the provincial assembly constituency PK-89, said that he was expecting to defeat his rival candidates with a margin of over 10,000 votes, but the results had shocked him.