ISLAMABAD:
A broad opposition alliance, including Imran Khan’s PTI, on Monday rejected the results of the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) election, alleging widespread fraud and manipulation, and announced plans for protests and further political action.
The PPP took the lead in the UK election as unofficial results showed the party ahead in 11 of the 24 seats contested in Sunday’s vote. The PML-N was leading in five constituencies; PTI in three and its ally, MWM, in one seat. Independent candidates were ahead in two constituencies.
At a press conference on Monday, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan declared the polls “fake and rigged” and announced that the party would observe a “black day” in GB on swearing-in day and issue a white paper detailing alleged irregularities.
He claimed that PTI had secured clear victories in at least eight constituencies and had Form-47 results for three seats.
“We won 100 percent in eight seats where we should have received official results,” he said, alleging pre-poll rigging and a “systematic plan” to exclude the PTI from the election process.
Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas, who also heads the MWM party, alleged large-scale manipulation, citing delays in results and selective dissemination of results as factors that raise serious questions about transparency.
He claimed that an “information blackout” in the region was aimed at hiding facts and accused authorities of depriving PTI candidates of a level playing field.
He alleged political interference, ground-level coercion and engineered defections, saying such practices had distorted the electoral environment.
“Public mandate has been stolen and redistributed,” he said, warning that undermining genuine political leadership could create a dangerous vacuum and erode confidence in the state.
Separately, an opposition party alliance – TTAP – also held a consultative meeting, chaired by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who also serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.
The meeting was attended by Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI leader Asad Qaiser, former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and alliance spokesperson Akhunzada.
In a strongly worded statement issued after the meeting, TTAP alleged that opposition parties, especially PTI, were deliberately sidelined through various tactics during UK polls. It called the process a “repeat of the 2024 general election” and outright rejected the results.
“When decisions are made elsewhere, elections become a mere formality,” it said, adding that the credibility of the UK Electoral Commission and the electoral process had been seriously undermined.
It emphasized that public support cannot be “grabbed or stolen” and warned that any power gained through manipulation would be unsustainable.
