The true protagonists in the February 8 national polls in Pakistan were two individuals — Army Chief General Asim Munir and former Prime Minister and founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party, Imran Khan. Munir used all levers of state power from behind the scenes and through other institutions and individuals to try to grind Khan into electoral dust. With results of 250 of the 266 general seats contested in the elections announced so far, it is certain, that he has failed to do so.
Archiv: the Gurkani (ruler of Pakistan)
Delays spoil the party for PTI backed independents
Even after a lapse of more than seven hours, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has not given any reason for the delay leading to the expression of suspicions from contesting parties.
Prior to the elections, the electoral watchdog had introduced a new system called the Election Management System (EMS) to organize the results, but so far, the performance of the system has belied the ECP claims.
Twitter down in Pakistan after ‘controversial election under internet blackout’
ISLAMABAD: Social media platform ‘X’ is down across Pakistan as reported by Netblocks, on Saturday.
“Live metrics show a nation scale disruption X/Twitter across Pakistan: The incident come amid political turmoil after controversial election held under an internet and mobile network blackout”. the post on ‘X’ by Netblocks read.
Delays, deals, nepo babies, trends and vote rigging: Five takeaways from Pakistan’s elections
Candidates observing the count at polling stations said they saw significant leads suddenly disappear or results that were announced in their favor only to be reversed to declare an opponent the winner. They said they were marched off polling station grounds or barred from entering once voting ended and that polling agents were stopped from collecting results.
The majority of irregularities and impediments were reported by independent candidates backed by imprisoned ex-premier Imran Khan’s party.
Pakistan Army Chief Says Need To Move On From „Politics Of Anarchy“
Politicians and political parties rise and fall with the backing of the military, which this year was widely believed to be backing the party of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Nawaz Sharif declares victory in Pakistan‘s election, despite failing to win a majority of seats
Mr Sharif‘s party won the most seats by a single party in Thursday‘s election, but supporters of imprisoned former prime minister Mr Khan, who ran as independents instead of as a single bloc after his party was barred from the polls, won the most seats overall.
In shock result, allies of jailed ex-leader Khan win most seats in Pakistan election
(Updated 3:01 AM EST, Sat February 10, 2024)
Khan’s opponent, former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, claimed that his PMLN party had emerged with the largest share. He admitted that his party did not have the “majority to form a government” and was looking for coalition partners.
Sharif, who once saw one of his terms end in a military coup, is considered by analysts to be favored by the country’s military establishment. The military has previously denied backing Sharif.
Pakistan: Election-day internet shutdown is a reckless attack on people’s rights
(08.02.2024)
On 6 February, Amnesty International and other members of the #KeepItOn coalition — a global network of over 300 organisations from 105 countries working to end internet shutdowns — wrote to the caretaker Prime Minister Mr Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, to ensure unfettered access to the internet, social media platforms, and all other communication channels throughout Pakistan’s general election.
Pakistani authorities have already imposed multiple shutdowns that violated the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, including of opposition leaders and parties, during this election cycle.
Despite jailing and sidelining, Imran Khan’s party leading
Imran Khan complicated the possibility of Washington providing moral support, even if it were inclined, by framing his removal from office through a vote of no confidence as a U.S.-backed regime change conspiracy. This move heightened anti-American sentiment in the country.
Pakistan elections are a sham without Imran Khan
It is election day in Pakistan. But in the world’s fifth largest democracy, people are not able to vote for the most popular leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who cannot contest elections after having been disbarred. Khan will spend today – and potentially 14 more years – in jail. So how did the situation get so bad and what lies ahead?
Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), are leading in opinion surveys, but their electoral symbol has been banned, and observers are predicting that the vote will be a fait accompli for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).
Asim Munir (general)
Syed Asim Munir[1][3] NI(M) (Urdu: سید عاصم منیر)[1] is a Pakistani army general and the current Chief of Army Staff since 29 November 2022.[4] Prior to becoming the army chief, he was posted at the GHQ as Quartermaster general.[5] He commanded the XXX Corps in Gujranwala from 17 June 2019 to 6 October 2021.[6] He served as the 23rd Director-General of the ISI until he was replaced by lieutenant general Faiz Hameed on 16 June 2019.
Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan and wife convicted of marriage law violation in a fourth case
(04.02.2024)
Analysts say Khan’s multiple and apparently hasty convictions are seen by his party and supporters as punishment for his rhetoric against Pakistan’s powerful military leadership, which has ruled the country for half of its 76-year history. During his final months in power, Khan had broadened his fight with opponents to include the military.
The Real Reasons the Middle East Is Blowing Up Right Now By Fred Kaplan
Meanwhile, the war in Gaza rages on. Whatever the real reasons for the conflicts throughout the region (and those reasons are many), some of the combatants in all of them at least say that they’re spinoffs of that larger, historic war, so the spinoff battles are likely to rage on.
Pakistan missiles strike Iran in retaliatory bombing as tensions soar
On Thursday morning, according to a statement from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan conducted what it called an “intelligence-based operation” against hideouts of armed groups in the Sistan-Baluchestan province of Iran.
Iranian state television said at least nine people were killed in the attacks.
Pakistan warns of ‘consequences’ after Iranian incursion
Pakistan condemned the attack, describing it an “unprovoked violation” of the Pakistani airspace, and warned Tehran of serious consequences. The Foreign Office said in a late-night statement that the violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty was completely unacceptable.
Two bases of Jaish al Adl in Pakistan were targeted by missiles on Tuesday, Iranian state media reported, a day after Iran‘s elite Revolutionary Guards missiles strikes hit an “Israeli spy centre” in Iraq and targeted Islamic State militants in Syria.
Pakistan summons Iranian charge d‘affaires to protest over ‚unprovoked violation‘ of air space
Islamabad reacted strongly over unprovoked violation of airspace by Tehran air attack inside Pakistani territory killed two innocent children while injuring three other girls.
Foreign office said such violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences.
MoFA called it concerning as despite the existence of several channels of communication, Iran opted for aggressive approach.
Iran hits back
Missiles rain on the headquarters of terrorists in Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria’s Idlib and Pakistan’s Balochistan
Iran attacks alleged militant bases in Pakistan; Islamabad says ‚unprovoked‘ strikes kill 2 children
Iran launched attacks Tuesday in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, potentially further raising tensions in a Middle East already roiled by Israel‘s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Pakistan said the strikes killed two children and wounded three others in an assault it described as an “unprovoked violation” of its airspace.
TV report: Israel believes drone fired at tanker off India was launched directly from Iran
Israel believes the drone fired at a tanker off the coast of India a short while ago was launched directly from Iran, Channel 12 reports, although this remains unconfirmed.
Pentagon says chemical tanker struck by Iranian drone in Indian Ocean
A chemical tanker operating in the Indian Ocean was struck by an Iranian attack drone Saturday, a US Department of Defense official said, the seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021.
“The motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker was struck at approximately 10 a.m. local time (6 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time) today in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles from the coast of India, by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran,” the official said in a statement.
Visiting US senators: Hamas must be destroyed, war was opened to prevent Saudi peace
Delaware Democrat Chris Coons also said that the Abraham Accords and progress toward normalization were among Hamas’s reasons to attack now.
Graham added that 10 percent of the US Senate is currently in Israel “because we care… I come here because I love Israel. I do not hate Palestinians. I hate Hamas.”
Graham also had stark words of warning for Tehran: “We’re here today to tell Iran, we’re watching you. If this war grows, it’s coming to your backyard. There won’t be two fronts, there will be three.”
Asim Munir (general)
Prior to becoming army chief he was posted at the GHQ as Quartermaster general.[3] He commanded the XXX Corps in Gujranwala from 17 June 2019 to 6 October 2021.[4] He served as the 23rd Director-General of the ISI until he was replaced with Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed on 16 June 2019.
Pakistan sets election for January, likely minus Imran Khan
(September 21, 2023)
The election commission has already questioned the impartiality of the caretaker government led by Kakar, who comes from a pro-military party, saying it appears to be aligned with the opponents of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
As it stands, former premier Khan, the main opposition leader, cannot fight this election after he was barred from public office for five years after a corruption investigation.
Did US ask for Imran Khan’s removal as Pakistan PM after he visited Russia?
(10 Aug 2023)
Khan was sacked from power in April 2022 after he lost a no-confidence vote in parliament. He alleged he knew of the “cypher” while he was in office which, according to him, proved the US hatched a conspiracy with the help of his political opponents and the Pakistani military to remove him.
He later made a U-turn, saying he wants good relations with the US, but continued to blame his successor Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the military for orchestrating his removal.
Secret Pakistan Cable Documents U.S. Pressure to Remove Imran Khan
(09.08.2023)
One month after the meeting with U.S. officials documented in the leaked Pakistani government document, a no-confidence vote was held in Parliament, leading to Khan’s removal from power. The vote is believed to have been organized with the backing of Pakistan’s powerful military. Since that time, Khan and his supporters have been engaged in a struggle with the military and its civilian allies, whom Khan claims engineered his removal from power at the request of the U.S.
The text of the Pakistani cable, produced from the meeting by the ambassador and transmitted to Pakistan, has not previously been published. The cable, known internally as a “cypher,” reveals both the carrots and the sticks that the State Department deployed in its push against Khan, promising warmer relations if Khan was removed, and isolation if he was not.