Muzaffarabad(National Times)- PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari continued his tirade against the PML-N \u2014 an ally of his party in the Centre \u2014 on Wednesday, reiterating his allegations in the first phase of Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections and demanding re-polling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing a PPP workers\u2019 convention in Muzaffarabad, he called on the Election Commission to hold re-polling in Mirpur if \u201cyou are not involved in this rigging\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Directly taking a jibe at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, he said: \u201cIf someone is sitting on the PM\u2019s seat, or someone is sitting on the CM\u2019s position today, even a child knows that it is not because of the people\u2019s votes or your performance but because of Form-47.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Form-47 is the provisional consolidated statement of results of vote count of all polling stations in a constituency, prepared by the returning officer (RO) concerned. It has been used mainly by the opposition PTI since the 2024 general elections in the country to refer to alleged rigging in the polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elections in AJK are being held in three phases over security concerns, and the PML-N won nine out of a total 13 seats up for grabs in the first phase in Mirpur, according to provisional results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bilawal\u2019s allegations on Wednesday were in continuation of his party\u2019s accusations from the day before, when the PPP and the PML-N traded barbs over election results, with Maryam saying in a televised address that it was \u201cnot the state that decides election results, but the people\u201d. She also urged the PPP to accept defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shortly before Bilawal\u2019s speech on Wednesday, she, too, took a jibe at the PPP on X, saying: \u201cThe PPP, which is the master of the fine art of rigging, is crying foul. When\u2019s the doomsday?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to her on X, PPP\u2019s Sharjeel Memon said, \u201cThis is not you speaking but Form-47. Doomsday came in 2024, when mandates were being distributed in charity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Product of rigging
For his part, Bilawal assailed the PML-N, claiming that the party was a \u201cproduct of rigging\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drawing a contrast with his own party, Bilawal said that the PPP\u2019s track record \u201cdated back three generations\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He went on to claim that \u201cthere has not been a single election where the PML-N has won through the people\u2019s vote [\u2026], but always due to rigging\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo they think we will allow them to rig the elections in Kashmir?\u201d Bilawal asked rhetorically. \u201cThe Kashmiri people will not bow down and let anyone steal their mandate,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is Muzzaffarbad, not Srinagar,\u201d the PPP chairman said, vowing that his party would ensure that the opposing side\u2019s \u201crigging attempts go in vain\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking about Monday\u2019s elections, Bilawal wondered how PPP candidate Chaudhry Yasin could have lost given his performance in the previous election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn general Faiz\u2019s era, when Chaudhry Yasin won both the seats he was contesting despite his sons being imprisoned, and shots fired at him, then how can I accept the results in this election?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bilawal claimed that Yasin\u2019s win was \u201cturned into a defeat\u201d when the PML-N seized Mirpur\u2019s 30 polling stations, for which Bilawal claimed he had \u201cvideo evidence\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He further claimed that the voter turnout at the 30 polling stations was 90 per cent while in most constituencies the turnout was hardly 40-50pc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PPP chairman promised his party\u2019sworkers that he will \u201ctake back every single stolen vote\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said he was ready to accept defeat but added that \u201cif you are going to steal our mandate by rigging the election, then I cannot accept these results\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bilawal also reiterated PPP\u2019s recommendation regarding the formation of a truth and reconciliation commission to address the ongoing unrest in AJK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am not presenting this proposal on behalf of the state or the protesters, but on behalf of every Kashmiri who does not belong to either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He called on both sides \u2014 the government and the now proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee \u2014 to accept the demand. \u201cIf you walk the righteous path and if you are on the side of the truth, then why are you not forming the commission?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bilawal asked the crowd to vote for the PPP in the upcoming phase of the election on August 2, stating: \u201cConvey the message to Poonch, Rawalakot and Islamabad that Muzaffarabad demands a truth and reconciliation commission be formed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PPP chairman stressed that he wanted to ensure for the people of Kashmir \u201cthe right to governance and the right to employment\u201d but held that he would not do so by locking down the city. Instead, he said he would do so by gaining power through the electoral process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He assured the crowd that he would ensure AJK\u2019s representation in Islamabad and at forums such as the National Finance Commission (NFC) and the Council of Common Interests (CCI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bilawal further stated that when PPP spoke of employment in the region, it did so because the leadership was cognisant of the \u201ceconomic crisis\u201d in AJK. He then again took a jibe at PML-N, whose economic philosophy, Bilawal claimed, was guided by the principle that \u201cthe rich should get richer\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey taunt us and tell us that we want to turn Kashmir into Sindh. No, I want Kashmir to stay Kashmir and let the people decide its fate,\u201d Bilawal said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPunjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh or Balochistan cannot decide Kashmir\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Commission\u2019s role exposed\u2019
Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Wednesday, PPP Central Punjab General Secretary Hassan Murtaza claimed that the rigging had \u201cexposed the commission\u2019s role and the robbery of the PPP\u2019s mandate in broad daylight\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He alleged that \u201csuch rigging had never been seen before in Pakistan\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn Charhoi, from where Chaudhry Yasin was contesting, 30 polling stations were held hostage, and when the polling time ended, polling agents were not allowed to sit together,\u201d he claimed. Murtaza added that in Javed Badhanvi\u2019s constituency, similar tactics were employed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd on the day of polling, our worker Mukhtar Younis was martyred,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that polling stations in Chaudhry Ikhlaq\u2019s constituency were also taken hostage, and so were those in Chaudhry Pervaiz Ashraf\u2019s constituency, where Murtaza claimed he was in \u201cclose competition\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Murtaza alleged that holding the elections in phases was done to \u201cenable rigging\u201d. Speaking about the role of the AJK Election Commission, the PPP leader likened its role to that of Punjab\u2019s Crime Control Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was deciding who is to be half-fried and full fried, whose polling agents to pick and what polling stations to seize,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cextending the voting time by one hour was done so they could get time to stamp votes for the PML-N\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe AJK Election Commission played the role of a commissioned agent,\u201d he remarked. He said that PPP leaders brought the issue to the commission\u2019s attention and had urged it not to facilitate rigging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe kept telling you that buses were being given away and the code of conduct was being violated and you only took notice when the whole of social media assailed you for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He recalled that a day earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz made a statement over \u201chow the PPP had nothing to show for itself\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this, he said: \u201cThe past is witness that it was the PPP who got AJK the right to engage in parliamentary politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that during the PPP\u2019s six months in power in AJK, the region\u2019s then-premier Faisal Mumtaz Rathore had accepted 35 of the demands of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) \u201cwith one executive order\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he noted that there were two demands where the \u201cfederal government was involved or it required constitutional amendments\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that PPP leaders Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Qamar Zaman Qaira were part of the negotiating team that \u201cbegged the protesters for two weeks so all stakeholders may be brought on board, but the group did not accept the request\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he held that JAAC\u2019s refusal did not mean that the state should end the negotiating process altogether and the PPP\u2019s proposal for a truth and reconciliation commission be dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the state had shown some flexibility, the issue could have been resolved,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PPP has repeatedly called for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission amid protests in AJK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past month, the regional administration and the JAAC have been at odds over various issues \u2014 most notably the committee\u2019s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the region\u2019s Legislative Assembly reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947, which has resulted in protests across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ashraf calls for probe
Separately, PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf addressed a press conference in Islamabad, where he presented what he described as evidence for the alleged rigging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe other day, I demanded that the chief election commissioner should immediately decide on the constituencies where we have raised objections,\u201d he said, calling for an investigation \u201cbased on fact and evidence\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He asked if the party did not have the right to approach the relevant forum over the matter, stressing that \u201conly the people of Pakistan and Kashmir can be judges of the issue\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also objected to statements by the PML-N leadership advising PPP to \u201cmove on\u201d, raising alarm that PPP\u2019s \u201clegitimate grievances\u201d were not being taken into account. The PPP leader then went on to show \u201cvideo evidence\u201d of the alleged rigging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn this video in LA-12, a person can be seen picking up ballot papers and setting them on fire, along with 100-150 people who were led by the PML-N candidate,\u201d the leader claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this, Ashraf said he had brought the incident to the AJK Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan\u2019s attention and asked: \u201cIt has been more than 48 hours since we brought this to your notice, but has there been any action taken against this person?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He continued: \u201cHow are you telling us to be brave and move on as the elections are when there are still two phases left?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He warned of serious repercussions given the lack of accountability for such conduct. The PPP leader then went on to highlight discrepancies in the results from some of the polling stations in the Mirpur division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn polling station no.15 in LA-12, the total registered votes were 785, and the PML-N candidates secured 639 votes while our candidate got 12 votes and yet the results show that total votes were cast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pointed out that the polling station was in Charhoi, where he claimed at least 25pc of the people lived abroad and went on to question how every registered voter could have shown up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that some of the polling stations had voter turnout of up to 99pc. At this, he remarked: \u201cThis can only happen when you are sitting down and stamping the ballot papers yourself\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is the story of the injustice I wanted to tell you,\u201d he said, urging PML-N leadership to go to AJK and speak to the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He warned: \u201cIf we sweep everything under the rug, then people are going to lose their faith in the election process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ashraf called on the AJK chief justice to pay attention to the issue, questioning how the total turnout could have jumped to such a significant extent in AJK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have ensured the PPP was defeated, and you have done a lot of planning [..], but when you pull such a move, there is always a trace,\u201d he said. He called on the AJK Chief Election Commissioner, Retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, to make a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is the third day, and you should have stopped the process when our complaints started coming in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Muzaffarabad(National Times)- PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari continued his tirade against the PML-N \u2014 an ally of his party in the Centre \u2014 on Wednesday, reiterating his allegations in the first phase of Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections and demanding re-polling. Addressing a PPP workers\u2019 convention in Muzaffarabad, he called on the Election Commission to hold […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n