Protests against ‘rigging’ continue

ISLAMABAD: Protests, demonstrations and rallies against alleged rigging in the Feb-8 elections continued in different parts of the country on Thursday.

Besides demonstrations continuing in Balochistan by different parties, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) on Thursday gave calls for rallies and sit-ins on Friday (today) in the federal capital and interior Sindh, respectively. The JI announced to stage a demonstration in the federal capital on Friday (today) to register protest against the alleged rigging in the general election in Karachi and other parts of the country.

Addressing separate press conferences in the Twin Cities, JI central naib ameer and ex-MNA from Islamabad, Mian Muhammad Aslam, and Rawalpindi ameer Syed Arif Shirazi asked workers to reach the National Press Club at 4 pm to participate in the demonstration.

Mian Aslam said central naib ameer Liaquat Baloch, Secretary General Amirul Azeem and party leaders from Rawalpindi and Islamabad would address the demonstration. He said not only that massive rigging was committed in Karachi but results were also changed and victories were converted into defeats.

Aslam said the local administration and police disrupted the election campaign of JI leaders in Islamabad while Jamaat’s votes in NA-46 were reduced from 19,000 to 9,000.

He said the JI was deprived of representation in the National Assembly so that its parliamentarians should not raise their voice against controversial legislation. “We are being punished for raising voice against Transgender Act, extension of General Bajwa and IMF package deal and in support of Blasphemy Law,” Mian Aslam said. He said three Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Assembly seats won by the JI had also been taken back by reducing the number of votes secured by the winning candidates. JI Rawalpindi ameer Arif Shirazi said a large number of party workers from Rawalpindi would participate in the protest in Islamabad. Separately, JI central naib ameer Liaquat Baloch labelled the general election as massively rigged and controversial. Addressing a press conference in Mansoorah, Lahore, he announced that the JI would release a comprehensive white paper detailing the extent of election rigging.

Expressing deep concern over the increasing polarisation and instability in the country, Baloch called for a platform of political parties and advocated for a long-term partnership to steer the country out of crises. He proposed the formation of a judicial commission to thoroughly investigate election rigging. He urged the caretaker prime minister to file a reference in the Supreme Court to initiate the establishment of such a commission.

He warned that a government formed on a stolen mandate would be vulnerable to external influences, becoming a tool in the hands of international establishments and imperialist forces. He reiterated the JI’s commitment to reclaim its mandate through all available forums, including peaceful protests and legal avenues.

Meanwhile, thousands of people belonging to Hur Jamaat from Nara, Sanghar, Umarkot and Tharparkar left for Jamshoro on the call of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) to attend a sit-in being held there on Friday (today). Preparations for the GDA sit-in against the alleged rigging in the general election were going on while the Sindh nationalist parties alliance changed the venue of the sit-in.

Talking to the media, GDA Secretary General Dr Safdar Abbasi said the sit-in announced by Pir Sahab Pagara, chief of the GDA, on February 16 would be held on the Hyderabad-Jamshoro Bypass, Super Highway, instead of the Hatri Bypass. He said they were determined to hold demonstrations and stage sit-ins against the “poll rigging and changing of results”. He said they had informed the authorities for making security arrangements. The sit-in would be addressed by GDA leader Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and others.

PPI adds: Rallies and demonstrations against the ‘rigged’ election continued for the seventh consecutive day in different cities of Balochistan, including Quetta.

A protest rally under the aegis of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP), Balochistan National Party Mengal (BNPM), National Party (NP) and Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) was taken out on Thursday from the office of deputy commissioner, Quetta. The participants marched through different roads and reached outside the office of DC Quetta/ District Returning Officer.

Similarly, demonstrations were held in Kalat, Khuzdar, Surab, Turbat, Panjgur, Chaman, Killa Abdullah, Loralai and Zhob.

A protest rally under the auspices of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party was taken out from the Bacha Khan Chowk of Quetta. Addressing the participants, speakers said a particular party had been brought to power through a well-planned conspiracy, adding that after taking like-minded parties into confidence, a protest movement would be launched.