PPP slams AJK Election Commission saying it is ‘equally responsible for rigging’ during polls

A Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader on Wednesday slammed the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Election Commission, saying it was “equally responsible for facilitating the fraud” during the first phase of AJK elections in Mirpur Division.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, PPP Central Punjab General Secretary Hassan Murtaza alleged that polling stations were attacked, polling stations were prevented from entering the polling stations and an atmosphere of fear and harassment was created during the election process.

Criticizing the AJK Election Commission, he said, “The AJK Election Commission had played the role of the Punjab Crime Control Department (CCD). The AJK Election Commission used to decide who should be half-baked, who should be full-baked. If polling stations should be picked up. If polling stations should be turned into garbage.”

Murtaza added: “We kept screaming and shouting that this is happening. Don’t facilitate this. You have facilitated it. You are equally responsible for this.”

Questioning the commission’s handling of the election, he said, “If you cannot provide security in a division… how can we believe that you can maintain transparency in a division like Punjab?”

He said the party repeatedly informed the AJK Election Commission of alleged violations, saying, “We kept telling you that buses are plying. Violations are happening. The code of conduct is being violated. You will not be able to hear anything. When the whole social media caught your transparency, you understood and noticed. You got a notice. What is the benefit of that?”

Murtaza also criticized Punjab’s governance, alleging failures in healthcare, education, flood management, infrastructure and agriculture. He alleged that the recent rainfall had inundated settlements in parts of Punjab, causing damage to crops and infrastructure, and alleged that inadequate maintenance of a dam had contributed to the floods.

He also criticized the government’s economic policies, claiming that decisions regarding power generation, agriculture and wheat procurement had harmed farmers and increased costs for consumers.

Murtaza said the party’s politics focused on public issues rather than personal attacks.

Sharjeel Memon demands re-election in three constituencies in AJK

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon demanded re-election in three constituencies and said that in one of AJK’s constituencies, 110 percent of votes had been cast.

“I urge the Election Commission to take notice of the incident”, Sharjeel said while talking to a pressman in Islamabad.

Referring to PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique, Memon said he had spoken about the late leadership of PPP which was “below the moral threshold”.

He said Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had talked about Kashmiris and insulted them. “This will not be tolerated.”

Memon alleged that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz came to power through Form 47 on a “fake mandate”.

“Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz came to power through the back door. The mandate belonged to someone else and the PML-N took over that mandate,” he added.

Referring to Maryam’s post on X, he said that given the current situation in the country, she should have weighed her words before speaking.

Memon said she did not understand the responsibility of holding powerful public offices or caring about the public because she had not been elected by the people.

The minister said the Sindh Assembly had members who speak Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Urdu and Punjabi.

Memon added that even in Larkana, the hometown of President Asif Zardari family, a Punjabi-speaking legislator had been elected as an MPA.

He said that Sindh was leading the country in the health sector and challenged anyone to disagree.

Referring to National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), Children’s Hospital and Gambat Hospital, he said they were treating patients from all provinces.

“We recognize the challenges in Karachi; Karachi is not a city, it is a country.” He said the city attracted people from all over Pakistan because of the opportunities it provided.

Memon said the people of Sindh had rejected PML-N’s dictatorial approach.

He alleged that Maryam Nawaz’s administration had tortured a journalist for writing an article on X about her lip service, saying “an FIR was registered against the journalist and the TV channel was asked to apologize to secure the journalist’s release.”

Memon alleged that the Punjab government prevented media coverage of urban flooding by threatening to withhold government advertisements. “Maryam Nawaz never allowed journalists to ask questions after press conferences, which according to him was a sign of dictatorship,” he added.

He claimed that she had not held a single press conference over the past two years and instead only shared recorded messages.

Memon said that Maryam avoided press conferences because she feared difficult questions from journalists and further claimed that if a journalist managed to ask a difficult question, there was a threat of criminal proceedings under the PECA Act.

Senior Minister Sindh said that there was freedom of press in Sindh and the Sindh Chief Minister regularly held press conferences to answer questions from journalists.

He called on the Punjab government to close all courts and claimed that law enforcement agencies were deciding the fate of people through extrajudicial means. “They kill on mere whims and stage encounters,” he added.

Memon alleged that the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) had been given a free hand to kill people and argued that such lawlessness could later result in the execution of political opponents.

He described the Punjab government as “fascist”.

Memon alleged that the PML-N had always come to power through rigging rather than the vote.

He said the PPP had leaders they could be proud of and contrasted them with PML-N leaders who, according to him, “make deals, pack their bags and run away from the country as soon as misfortune strikes”.

“Can they ask Kashmiris to vote for such leaders? Our leaders laid down their lives for the people and kissed the noose as a show of solidarity with the people. They stayed in jail for 12 years to uphold the party’s political manifesto,” he said.

Highlighting the PPP’s achievements, he said the party had given the country its constitution, the “nuclear bomb” and “missile technology”.

“Count PPP’s votes over time; they have increased over the years,” Memon said.

He said Sindh was denied its due share of water and had to ration supplies to help farmers survive.

Memon claimed that all roads under the Sindh government’s administration were in good condition.

He said the PPP had initiated the Thar coal project to help the country generate electricity but claimed it was shelved by Nawaz.

Memon said Sindh had state-of-the-art hospitals for special children, which the federal government was trying to replicate.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari defended the Punjab government’s performance and contrasted it with the PPP government in Sindh while responding to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s criticism during the AJK election campaign.

Addressing a press conference, Azma questioned the PPP’s record in Sindh and asked why Karachi continued to face problems including the water tanker mafia, inadequate public transport and poor waste management despite years of PPP rule.

She compared what she described as “Maryam’s Punjab” to “Bilawal’s Sindh”, highlighting Punjab’s Green Bus service, road infrastructure, Schools of Eminence, Honhaar scholarships, laptop distribution, urban flood management, air ambulance service, school feeding program and development projects in southern Punjab.

Azma also questioned claims that Rs1.7 trillion had been spent on Karachi, citing what she described as higher crime rates in the city than Lahore, and argued that Punjab’s model of government had become a benchmark for other provinces. She said PML-N would seek public support on the basis of its achievements.